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England keep series alive with clinical bowling display

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A brave and disciplined bowling performance from England helped them stay alive [BCCI]

A disciplined bowling attack, to follow up on Ben Duckett’s second T20I half-century, helped England to a 26-run victory over India, in Rajkot, on Tuesday. With this win, England cut India’s lead to 2-1 in the five-match series.

The visitors had hoped that their counter-attack would eventually be able to outwit India. They tried, and somewhere till the end of the ninth over, it looked good. Jos Buttler and Ben Duckett in the middle, and 83 for 1 on the board. And then, a new but by-now-old nemesis emerged – Varun Chakravarthy. This time, with a ball lower than Buttler had anticipated, which was eventually undercut to the wicketkeeper.

Till the time Buttler and Ben Duckett were in the middle, the conditions for batting seemed pleasant. In a matter of seven deliveries in the fourth and fifth over especially, bowled by Hardik Pandya and Washington Sundar respectively, Duckett clubbed five boundaries and a six. Buttler didn’t find similar acceleration in his innings but after reverse-sweeping Bishnoi for a boundary in the seventh hope, he launched a tossed up delivery by the leggie over the long on fence.

But against Chakravarthy, it was a different story for the English batters. At sea against the wily variations of the spinner, Jamie Smith and Jamie Overton departed in successive deliveries in the 14th over. In the last over of his spell, Brydon Carse flicked him to the fielder at deep square leg, and Jofra Archer was cleaned up with a google. In a matter of seven overs from since Buttler’s departure, the visitors slid to 127 for 8, with Chakravarthy finishing his four-over spell with five wickets to his credit.

Fellow spinners – Axar Patel and Ravi Bishnoi also joined Chakravarthy’s party and threw England off their momentum completely. Duckett mistimed a slog off Axar to mid on and Harry Brook underedged a sweep off Bishnoi on to his stumps. Liam Livingstone’s late assault, a 24-ball 43, offered some respite. He slogged Bishnoi for three sixes in the 17th over, but departed in the next over. England’s last two batters, Adil Rashid and Mark Wood negotiated in the remaining deliveries in their innings to help them to a respectable 171 for 8 – slightly more competitive and eventually match-winning.

The contest, which seemed slightly in India’s favour courtesy Abhishek Sharma’s early assault, got a bit more exciting when Suryakumar Yadav top-edged a scoop flick to Phil Salt in the last over of the powerplay, reducing India to 48 for 3. By then, his enterprising strokeplay and Abhishek Sharma’s cameo were undone by the dismissal of the duo along with Sanju Samson, leading India early into a rebuilding phase.

Hardik Pandya and Tilak Varma handled the situation calmly, but the Indian batters too were put to test against Adil Rashid’s spin. With turn on offer in the surface, the leggie used his variations in pace to excellent effect. Varma was undone by a sharply turning legbreak that beat him on the inside edge and cleaned him up in the ninth over.

Washington Sundar didn’t have it much easier either trying to negotiate the loop, dip and lack of pace to accompany the turn that Rashid was getting from the surface. His 14-ball 6 in the middle overs firmly shifted the control in England’s favour. At the same time, Rashid finished an excellent spell, conceding only 15 runs.

With the ball keep a little slow and low, Hardik Pandya, despite several attempts, failed to get the big shots going. The English pacers played around well with the pace, disguising the slower ones well with their high speeds. A couple of sixes were peppered with several mistimed shots for singles. Axar Patel didn’t have it any easier either, clawing his way to a 15-ball 16 before top-edging Jofra Archer to short third.

As the required rate kept mounting and went past India’s realistic chance, It just turned out to be a procession of wickets in the end, with Shami top-edging his swing to deep long on and Dhruv Jurel scooping the ball to the ‘keeper. Bishnoi drove the last ball for a boundary, but that was far too little for India.

Brief Scores:
England
171/9 in 20 overs (Ben Duckett 51, Liam Livingstone 43; Varun Chakravarthy 5-24, Hardik Pandya 2-33) beat India 145/9 in 20 overs (Hardik Pandya 40, Abhishek Sharma 24; Jamie Overton 3-24, Brydon Carse 2-28) by 26 runs



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Asalanka’s ton and Theekshana’s four, down Australia

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Charith Asalanka scored 127 out of Sri Lanka's 214 [Cricinfo]

A captain’s innings of 127 off 126 balls by Charith Aslanka and a four wicket haul by Maheesh Theekshana helped Sri Lanka to defeat Australia in the first ODI played at the Ranasinghe Premadasa Stadium in Colombo today.

Brief scores:
Sri Lanka 214 in 46 overs [Charith Aslanka 127, Dunith Wellalage 30, Kusal Mendis 19; Spencer Johnson 2-44, Aaron Hardie 2-13, Sean Abott 3-61, Nathan Ellis 2-23] beat Australia 165 in 33.5 overs [Alex Careyb 41, Aaron Hardie 32, Sean Abott 20; Asitha Fernando 2-23, Maheesh Theekshana 4-40, Dunith Wellalage 2-33] by 49 runs

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Trade, tariffs and visas to dominate Trump-Modi talks

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Narendra Modi at the Artificial Intelligence Action Summit in Paris on Tuesday [BBC]

When Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits Washington and meets President Donald Trump later this week, there will be some warm hugs and shared laughs. But that will not be all.

Trump and Modi have developed a strong personal rapport over the years, marked by high-profile meetings and joint appearances.

Since their first meeting in Washington in 2017, their bond has grown through other events, including joint appearances at massive rallies in Houston and Ahmedabad. Their chemistry stems from shared worldviews and politics and a mutual strategic focus on countering China, a concern that has also strengthened the broader US-India partnership.

Not surprisingly, Trump has often criticised India, but he has never criticised Modi.

And so, during Modi’s visit, the two leaders will probably spend time mapping out next steps in the US-India strategic partnership, which is already in a good place.

Modi will reportedly meet several members of Trump’s cabinet, as well as US business leaders and members of the Indian-American community.

He may also meet SpaceX and Tesla chief Elon Musk. Modi, keen to scale up India’s burgeoning electric vehicles sector, would be happy if Musk opened a Tesla factory in India.

And yet the Trump-Modi conviviality and heady talk of strategic partnership may mask a sobering reality: during Modi’s visit, the relationship’s transactional side will come into sharp relief with each leader, especially Trump, armed with an array of demands.

Delhi knows Trump well. Many of Modi’s current cabinet ministers also served during his previous term, which overlapped with part of the first Trump administration. That familiarity has been on display since Trump’s inauguration last month: Delhi has publicly signaled its willingness to lower tariffs, take back undocumented Indian immigrants and buy American oil.

It has already lowered some tariffs and taken back 104 undocumented Indians, with the first plane arriving in India last week. These pre-emptive steps are meant to prevent Trump from making specific demands of India and to reduce the likelihood of tensions with the new Trump administration.

Still, Trump may ask Modi to make additional tariff reductions, to further chip away at a US goods and services trade deficit with India that has approached $46bn (£37.10bn) in recent years. But an obstacle could become an opportunity: Modi may call on Trump to enter into bilateral talks on an economic partnership accord meant to reduce tariffs on both sides.

In recent years, Delhi has shown a growing willingness to pursue trade deals. The Trump administration may prove to be a more willing interlocutor than the Biden administration, which imposed heavy environmental and labour-related conditions on new trade agreements.

[BBC]

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Sri Lanka elect to bat in first ODI

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Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bat first in the first ODI against Australia

Sri Lanka: Pathum Nissanka, Avishka Fernando, Kusal Mendis (wk), Kamindu Mendis, Charith Asalanka (c), Janith Liyanage, Dunith Wellalage, Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, Eshan Malinga, Asitha Fernando

Australia: Matt Short, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Cooper Connolly, Steve Smith (c), Marnus Labuschagne, Alex Carey (wk), Aaron Hardie, Sean Abbott, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa, Spencer Johnson

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