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Siraj five seals Oval epic as India level series 2-2
Mohammed Siraj starred in a stunning come-from-behind win at The Oval as India levelled the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2-2 with a thrilling six-run victory on an overcast fifth morning in London. England needed 35 runs with four wickets in hand, one of which was Chirs Woakes with a dislocated right shoulder. Siraj, however, got the ball to swing as much as two degrees amidst a drizzle, and picked up three wickets in a testing spell with the old ball to finish with a fifer that scripted a memorable win.
It was Harry Brook and Joe Root’s hundreds, and a 195-run stand, on Day 4 that gave England the upper hand before a short sharp spell of rain shortly after Tea forced action to spill into the fifth day. Prasidh Krishna resumed his over from last evening with a short ball first up, and Jamie Overton pulled him confidently to the fence to begin with a boundary. He almost chopped on the next ball, but the edge snuck over the stumps and into the fine leg ropes for four more.
India’s comeback started at the other end where Jamie Smith was beaten twice by Siraj before he finally nicked one behind without adding anything to his overnight score of 2. Siraj, and India, could have had a second wicket in as many deliveries but Gus Atinkson lucked out when the edge dropped just short of KL Rahul at second slip.
Overton’s luck then ran out. Siraj had him trapped in front of middle and leg with a nip-backer and saw umpire Kumar Dharmasena raise his finger after a moment of deliberation. Overton availed a review, only to find ‘umpire’s call’ on wickets and see the finger raised again. The review came to Josh Tongue’s rescue in the following over when he was adjudged LBW, off Prasidh, but the tracking found the ball to be going down leg.
Tongue, after a bunch of play-and-a-miss against Siraj, was then cleaned up by a pinpoint yorker from Prasidh, leaving England 17 away with no option but to call on the injured Woakes. The allrounder walked out to a rousing applause – bat in the left hand and his dominant arm in a sling.
Atkinson did his part in ensuring Woakes stayed at the non-striker’s end. It involved refusing singles until the last deliveries of the overs, and targeting big hits – the very first attempt at which could have been caught in the deep but Akash Deep palmed it over for a six instead.
Fittingly, it was Siraj’s tenacity that prevailed over England’s last pair’s valiant fight. The pacer nailed a yorker to clean up Atkinson on 17, propelling India to a momentous win in front of a near capacity Oval.
Brief scores:
India 224 (Karun Nair 57; Gus Atkinson 5-33, Josh Tongue 3-57) and 396 (Yashasvi Jaiswal 118, Akash Deep 66, Washington Sundar 53, Ravindra Jadeja 53; Josh Tongue 5-125, Gus Atkinson 3-127) beat England 247 (Zak Crawley 64, Harry Brook 53; Prasidh Krishna 4-62, Mohd. Siraj 4-86) & 367 (Harry Brook 111, Joe Root 105; Mohd. Siraj 5-104, Prasidh Krishna 4-126) by 6 runs.
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Nigeria president ‘in great shape’ after falling at Turkey reception
Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu is “in great shape” despite falling over at a reception ceremony in Turkey, one of his aides said.
Tinubu, 73, was being welcomed by his Turkish counterpart at an official ceremony in the capital, Ankara, when he stumbled.
After walking past a line of soldiers and dignitaries Tinubu can be seen on the official video on the Turkish president’s X account moving to his right when he stumbles and falls. The film briefly shows people helping the president before cutting to an aerial shot and 45 seconds later Tinubu and Recep Tayyip Erdogan are seen next to each other.
Tinubu appeared unhurt and aide Sunday Dare said he was able to continue with a bilateral meeting.
Video clops of the incident are being shared on social media.
A spokesman for the president, Bayo Onanuga, later said that Tinubu had stepped on a metal object “on the floor, which made him lose his balance”.
“This is not a big deal, except for those who want to make mischief out of a fleeting incident. It was a mere stumble, thank God, not a fall,” he added.
The last time the president fell over in public in June 2024, he made a joke about it, saying people thought he was doing a popular dance move.
At that time the incident was described as a “mild mis-step” by an aide, and there was also a lot of sympathy for Tinubu, including from leading opposition politician Atiku Abubakar, who called it an “unfortunate incident”.
Another politician, Shehu Sani, said that it showed the president was a human being and no different to anyone else.
In an apparent move to allay concerns on Tuesday afternoon, in an all capital letters headline, Dare said on X. “President Tinubu in great shape as state visit proceeds smoothly.
“After a stately welcome ceremony in Ankara [he] proceeded to scheduled bilateral meetings with the President of Turkey and other senior government officials from both countries.”
He did not give further details.
Tinubu’s visit to Turkey was “aimed at strengthening the existing cordial relations”, the president’s office said in a statement before he left for Ankara on Monday.
After the two presidents met, Turkey announced new economic, trade and defence cooperation agreements with Nigeria.
Speaking at a joint press conference with Tinubu, Erdogan said both countries had reaffirmed a target of increasing total bilateral trade to $5bn (£3.6bn).
The two countries also exchanged agreements on defence cooperation. Turkey pledged support for Nigeria’s fight against militants, as well as deeper collaboration in military training and intelligence sharing.
“Nigeria remains open for serious partnership. Open to trade without barriers. Open to ideas, skills, and investment that create value and shared prosperity,” Tinubu posted on X later.
Tinubu took office in 2023 after beating Abubakar in a presidential election.
[BBC]
Latest News
Spain plans to give half a million undocumented migrants legal status
The Spanish government has announced a plan to legalise the status of undocumented migrants, a measure expected to benefit at least half a million people.
Regularisation will be available to foreign nationals who do not have a criminal record and can prove they lived in Spain for at least five months prior to 31 December 2025.
“This is an historic day for our country,” said Elma Saiz, Spain’s minister of inclusion, social security and migration.
The measure will provide beneficiaries with an initial one-year residence permit, which can then be extended. Requests for legalisation are expected to begin in April and the process will remain open until the end of June.
“We are reinforcing a migratory model based on human rights, integration, co-existence and which is compatible with economic growth and social cohesion,” Saiz said.
Spain has seen a large influx of migrants in recent years, mainly from Latin America.
The conservative think-tank Funcas found that the number of undocumented migrants in Spain had risen from 107,409 in 2017 to 837,938 in 2025 – an eight-fold increase.
The highest number of undocumented arrivals currently living in Spain are believed to be from Colombia, Peru and Honduras.
Spain’s socialist-led coalition government has been an outlier on this issue among the larger European nations, underlining the importance of migrants for the economy.
The country has been outperforming the other main EU economies in recent years, posting expected growth of close to 3% in 2025.
Unemployment, a longstanding weakness of the Spanish economy, has dipped below 10% for the first time since 2008, according to figures released on Tuesday.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has described immigrants as representing “wealth, development and prosperity” for Spain, pointing to their contribution to the social security system.
The government and parties on the left have also emphasised the need to treat migrants in a humane way.
“Providing rights is the answer to racism,” said Irene Montero, of the far-left Podemos party and a former minister in a coalition government with the Socialists.
She has campaigned for this measure, which followed an agreement between the party and the government. A civic legislative proposal, calling for a mass migrant regularisation, received the support of around 700,000 people but had been languishing in parliament.
This measure will be approved by royal decree, meaning it does not require parliamentary approval.
It is the first large-scale migrant regularisation in Spain for two decades.
Several such initiatives, by governments of both the Socialists and the conservative People’s Party (PP), legalised the status of an estimated half a million migrants between 1986 and 2005.
However, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, leader of the PP, said the latest mass legalisation would “increase the pull effect and overwhelm our public services”.
Pepa Millán, spokeswoman for the far-right Vox, said the initiative “attacks our identity”, adding that the party would appeal before the Supreme Court in a bid to block it.
[BBC]
Latest News
Devine denies Delhi Capitals once again in final over
It felt like deja vu for Delhi Capitals. On January 11, Sophie Devine defended six in the final over to help Gujarat Giants secure their second win. Sixteen days later, she was once again tasked with defending a small total – eight runs – in the final over in DC’s chase of 175, after conceding 23 in her previous. Devine delivered once again, removing Niki Prasad and Sneh Rana, to give GG a three-run win. It took them to second place on the points table and a big step towards the knockouts.
Before that dramatic finish, DC had looked dangerous, thanks to late cameos from Prasad and Rana. From 100 for 6, the duo put on a 70 off just 31 balls to almost pull off a miracle.
Anushka Sharma walked in at 1 for 19 after Devine fell to Marizanne Kapp in the third over and, in a brief but decisive stay, wrested momentum from DC. Nervy at first, she soon settled, trusting her bottom hand and playing the ball rather than the bowler. A backfoot punch past mid-off off Nandani Sharma brought her first boundary, followed by a wristy clip through midwicket that underlined her control.
Kapp, with the best powerplay economy in this WPL at under five, bore the brunt in the fifth over as Anushka opened her shoulders for three fours, driving and whipping through square leg with minimal fuss. She struck eight fours in all and looked set for a big score, but after being dropped by Chinelle Henry at mid-off off Shree Charani, she attempted a slog sweep the next ball and was caught by Minnu Mani at deep midwicket for 39, leaving GG 73 for 2 in the ninth over.
Mooney held the innings with a composed knock. She was 16 off 18 balls when Anushka departed and had managed just one boundary until then. At the halfway stage, GG were 80 for 2. Jemimah Rodrigues’ decision to bowl out Kapp in the 11th over, however, worked in Mooney’s favour as she smashed three fours off her. Having found her rhythm, Mooney hit two more boundaries to backward point to bring up her first fifty of this WPL, off 40 balls. Mooney’s stay was cut short in the 17th over by Nandani’s slower ball.
The innings then unravelled, with GG losing wickets in a cluster between the 15th and 18th overs, including Georgia Wareham, Bharti Fulmali, Kanika Ahuja, and Kashvee Gautam, as Charani struck twice in an over.
Just as DC seemed to pull the game back, Tanuja Kanwar – who had missed the previous game – lifted GG to a competitive 174 with an 11-ball 21. She capped it 15 runs off Henry in the final over, smoking a six over the bowler’s head after hitting two fours. Charani finished as DC’s best bowler, returning figures of 4 for 31.
DC made a brisk start to the chase, reaching 41 for 1 at the end of five overs. But Devine removed Lizelle Lee off the final ball of the powerplay with a slower delivery. From the seventh over onwards, Kanwar and Ash Gardner bowled tight lines to Laura Wolvaardt and Rodrigues, conceding just 15 runs across three overs.
Although Georgia Wareham was taken for 12 in the tenth, it prompted the captain to bring Devine back – and she struck immediately, rattling Rodrigues’ stumps as the batter attempted a scoop. Two balls later, Gardner removed Kapp, and by the end of 12 overs, DC’s required run rate had climbed to 11.37. Wolvaardt soon fell to Gayakwad, leaving DC 85 for 5, and it became 100 for 6 with 75 needed from 33 balls.
But Devine struck in the final over, removing Rana and Prasad. Despite a tense two-run attempt and frantic running between the wickets, Devine’s slower deliveries and smart field placements saw both batters caught in the deep, allowing GG to hold on for a dramatic win.
Brief scores:
Gujarat Giants Women 174 for 9 in 20 overs (Beth Mooney 58, Sophie Devine 13, Anushka Sharma 39, Georgia Wareham 11,Tanuja Kanwar 21; Marizanne Kapp 1-34, Chinell Henry 2-38, Nandani Sharma 1-26, Shree Charani 4-31, Minnu Mani 1-23) beat Delhi Capitals Women 171 for 8 (Shafali Verma 14, Lizelle Lee 11, Laura Wolvaardt 24, Jemimah Rodrigues 16, Niki Prasad 47, Sneh Rana 29; Sophie Devine 4-37, Rajeshwari Gayakwad 3-20,Ashleigh Gardner 1-37) by three runs
[Cricinfo]
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