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Kerr, Matthews leave UP Warriorz on the brink of exit

Published

9 months ago

2025/03/7

Priyan

Amelia Kerr ran through Warriorz for figures of 5 for 38 [BCCI]

Mumbai Indians (MI) mounted a fine comeback with the ball to set up a win that put them a step closer to making the playoffs for a third year in succession and pushed UP Warriorz (UPW) to the brink of exiting WPL 2025. Led by a five-wicket haul from Amelia Kerr, MI picked up 9 for 76 to restrict UPW to 150 for 9 and chased that down with six wickets and nine balls to spare.

UPW were off to their best start in the competition thanks to Georgia Voll’s half-century in just her second WPL match. After being bowled for a duck on debut, she hit 55 off 33 balls to lay a strong platform. But UPW couldn’t capitalise, going from 74 for 0 to 125 for 7. The MI spinners combined to pick up eight of the nine wickets UPW lost.In reply, Hayley Matthews struck her second half-century of the season and was involved in a 92-run second-wicket partnership with Nat Sciver Brunt that all but sealed the win. It was Matthews’ second fifty in as many games this season against UPW, her 46-ball 68 in Lucknow following up her 50-ball 59 in Bengaluru last week.

The win took MI up to second on the points table with eight points and a net run rate of 0.267 after six outings. Their next game is against Gujarat Giants, who are third currently with six points in six matches with an NRR of 0.357.

Shabnim Ismail bowled the fastest ball recorded in women’s cricket history last year. Sciver-Brunt is capable of swinging the ball around in the early 110-kphs. Going by the first WPL game at the Ekana Stadium, there was enough help for the fast bowlers with the new ball. Yet the MI fast-bowling duo bowled offcutters on a red-soil surface. Ismail tried to soften Voll up with a one-two trick early on but quickly switched to taking pace off. Sciver-Brunt’s cutters proved tough to get away too, initially.

UPW opted for a third opening pair in their seventh game at WPL 2025, with former Brisbane Heat team-mates Harris and Voll striding out. The first ball of the match caught Harris by surprise. It reared up from a short-of-good length outside off and hit her high on the blade. That left Voll expecting the bouncer from Ismail, who slipped a few full ones to make the batter uncomfortable. But Voll soon got the measure of the bowler as well as the surface and she hit three fours in the five balls she faced after getting off the mark.

Voll was the aggressor but it was Harris who ended the powerplay with back-to-back fours off left-arm spinner Parunika Sisodia, whom MI had brought in for Jintimani Kalita. And so UPW ended the powerplay on 50 without loss. It was the best start for UPW this season. Voll took just 29 balls to bring up a fine half-century.

Voll greeted Kerr with three fours and then hit one more off Matthews in the next over. A misjudgement by Ismail at long-on saw Harris hit her only six. But a bouncer from Matthews, one she often uses to surprise the batters, got the better of Harris, who steer-pulled it to short fine leg. Kiran Navgire, at No. 3, went for an ungainly hack, charging at Kerr, to fall for a second-ball duck. Sciver-Brunt delivered the killer blow when Voll went for the scoop and missed.

From there, UPW struggled to get momentum with only Deepti Sharma holding one end up. All of Vrinda Dinesh, Chinelle Henry, Shweta Sehrawat and Uma Chetry fell trying to hit out against spin. Deepti hit just the two fours in her 25-ball 27 as UPW scored just 61 in their last ten overs.

MI are the most successful chasing team in the WPL and the 151-run target was unlikely to pose stiff challenge. But they had a concern at the top of the order – Yastika Bhatia had tallied 38 runs in six innings before Thursday. So they pushed Kerr up to open with Matthews and the move did not pay dividends. After hitting a couple of fours, Kerr mis-swatted a back-of-a-length ball from Henry to mid-on.

Matthews and Sciver-Brunt then joined forces and sped up the run scoring with dew also coming to their aid. Deepti was seen using the towel to wipe the ball inside the powerplay. Kranti Goud began well and extracted enough swing, much like Henry did, resulting in Matthews playing and missing a few. But a 16-run Gouher Sultana over set MI on their way.

The duel between Caribbean mates Henry and Matthews was one of the highlights of the phase: Henry getting one to rear up at her West Indies captain and having a few friendly words to say, only for Matthews to walk down the track to a short ball and send it sailing into the deep midwicket stands and grin in response.

MI lost three reasonably quick wickets at the doorstep of victory but Bhatia, in at No. 6, hit a couple of fours off the offspin of Voll and Deepti to seal the deal. And so two games into their “home leg” in Lucknow, UPW have two comprehensive defeats to show for it.

Brief scores:
Mumbai Indians Women 153 for 4 in 18.3 overs (Hayley Matthews 68, Nat Sciver-Brunt 37, Amelia Kerr 10, Amanjot Kaur 12*, Yastika Bhatia 10*; Grace Harris 2-11, Chinell Henry 1-28, Kranti Goud 1-38) beat UP Warriorz Women 150 for 9 in 20 overs (Georgia Voll 55, Grace Harris 28, Deepti Sharma 27, Dinesh Vrinda 10, Sophie Eclestone 16; Nat Sciver-Brunt 1-16, Parunika Sisodia 1-21, Amelia Kerr 5-38, Hayley Matthews 2-25) by six wickets

[Cricinfo]

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Starmer to host Zelensky for Ukraine talks in London

Published

4 hours ago

2025/12/8

Priyan

UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer will host Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in London today [Monday] amid a continuing deadlock in negotiations to end the war in Ukraine.

Zelensky will attend the talks in Downing Street alongside French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

Cabinet minister Pat McFadden said on Sunday that Ukraine’s security and self-determination would be “at the heart” of the leaders’ discussions in London. He said that US-led talks were at a “really pivotal moment”.

After three days of discussions in Miami, US President Donald Trump’s outgoing Ukraine envoy said that a deal to end the war was “really close” but hinged on Russia’s co-operation.

Negotiations remain stuck on issues including the size of Ukraine’s army after the conflict with Moscow ends and Russian control of the Donbas.

“If we get those two issues settled, I think the rest of the things will work out fairly well,” US special envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg told Reuters. “We’re almost there.”

Monday’s in-person talks are the latest attempt by Ukraine’s European allies to carve out a role in the ongoing efforts to end the war.

Confirming the meeting on Sunday, Downing Street said the leaders would “focus on the ongoing peace negotiations and next steps”, without providing details.

The White House has been pushing Kyiv and Moscow to agree to a multi-point plan to end the war but there has been little sign of a breakthrough, despite both sides engaging with the process.

The latest US-Ukraine talks concluded over the weekend – with Zelensky saying he was “determined” to continue working with the US after speaking to Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff.

European leaders have pushed back against early versions of the US-led peace plan, which has since been revised after criticism it was too favourable towards Russia.

It has sought to win US support for its own proposals, including a European-led security force to police any peace deal in Ukraine, an idea that has been rejected by Moscow.

The original version of the US plan faced criticism from Ukraine and its allies for accepting Russian demands including on Nato involvement, restrictions to Ukraine’s army and control of the eastern Donbas region.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has in turn rejected the revisions.

Despite blows to Russia’s economy and heavy losses on the battlefield, Putin has been unwilling to compromise on key points.

He has said Russia would take the Donbas by force if Ukraine did not cede control of the region, 85% of which is currently held by Russia.

“Either we liberate these territories by force, or Ukrainian troops will leave these territories,” Putin said in an interview with India Today.

While talks continued, Russia launched another large aerial bombardment on targets across Ukraine overnight into Sunday.

Twenty-four hours earlier, Russia had launched 653 drones and 51 missiles on Ukraine, triggering air raid alerts across the country.

Macron was among the European leaders to offer his “full solidarity” to Ukraine amid the attacks and that he would “continue efforts with the Americans” to secure peace.

Meanwhile, the US National Security Strategy, which was unveiled last week, did not consider Russia to be a threat to Europe.

Moscow responded that the strategy was consistent with its own vision and was a “positive step” forward.

With further diplomatic negotiations on the horizon, EU officials have urged the US to keep historic ties between the two continents intact.

“This is the only reasonable strategy of our common security,” Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said in response.

[BBC]

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Laws to curb unauthorised constructions to be strengthened

Published

5 hours ago

2025/12/8

Priyan

The President emphasised that no room will be given in the future for unauthorised constructions and that the laws relating to them will be strengthened. The President further pointed out that failure to do so would lead the country to face an even greater disaster.

President Dissanayake stated that a separate unit will be established under the Reconstruction Presidential Task Force, which is to be set up shortly, to formulate legal policies and that this will enable long-term solutions to these issues.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake made these remarks on Sunday (07) afternoon while participating in the Special District Coordination Committee meeting held at the Kurunegala District Secretariat.

The President instructed the relevant authorities to restore all damaged provincial roads and local council roads in the Kurunegala District to full functionality and reopen them for public use within the next two weeks.

He further stated that the allocations already set aside for this purpose should be utilized and that any roads that cannot be completed before 31 December, along with the required allocations, should be reported. The necessary funds will be allocated for these in the 2026 budget.

The district has recorded damage to 1,181l ‘A’ and ‘B’ grade provincial roads due to the disaster, along with 35 bridges, 162 culverts and one embankment. Detailed discussions were held on restoring them urgently.

The President separately reviewed the measures taken to restore essential infrastructure including electricity, water supply and communication facilities that had been disrupted in the district due to the disaster. He emphasised that delivering services up to the end user is the responsibility of the service-providing institutions and highlighted the need for strong coordination among these institutions to overcome existing obstacles.

Officials reported that 12,729 hectares of paddy land in the Kurunegala District were fully damaged due to the disaster, of which 7,215 hectares remain cultivable, while 5,514 hectares cannot be cultivated.

The President instructed the Water Supply Board to provide temporary water where cultivation is hindered due to lack of irrigation water and directed authorities to minimise the extent of uncultivable land as much as possible to ensure harvesting. He also inquired into the programme for supplying paddy seeds and fertiliser to farmers.

Damage caused to maize, vegetables and other supplementary crops, as well as the compensation process for affected farmers, was also reviewed.

The President informed local council Chairpersons that a main responsibility for well-cleaning activities lies with the local councils and instructed them to expedite the work with the assistance of the Tri-Forces and voluntary organisations.

Highlighting the need for maintaining accurate data on livestock farms across the country, the President pointed out that existing laws may be insufficient for this purpose and stressed the need to revise them. He also noted that the lack of proper registration of livestock farms causes issues when granting compensation and other assistance.

Therefore, the President instructed officials to bring all livestock-related data into a single system, review it and promptly make policy decisions regarding compensation.

There were also discussions on reviving the inland fisheries industry, healthcare requirements and the reopening of schools.

Extensive discussions were held on identifying land for resettlement and granting compensation for damaged houses. The President instructed that Divisional Secretaries must play a major role in compensation payments and resettlement activities.

Meanwhile, Venerable Aluthgama Mangala Thero, Chief Incumbent of Maddeketiya, Gokarella Sangamu Raja Maha Viharaya has allocated 20 acres of temple land for the resettlement of affected families. The relevant documentation was handed over to the President.

A financial donation of Rs. 10 million from the North Western Provincial Cooperative Societies, associations and members coordinated by the North Western Provincial Cooperative Development Department along with a donation from S.M. Wasantha Samarakoon, owner of Gokarella Rice Mill, was also handed over to the President.

Minister of Public Security and Parliamentary Affairs, Ananda Wijepala, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Livestock, Namal Karunaratne, Deputy Minister of Women and Child Affairs , Namal Sudarshana, North Western Province Governor, Tissa Warnasuriya, district MPs from both government and opposition, local council Chairpersons, Secretary to the Treasury, Dr Harshana Suriyapperuma , Ministry Secretaries, Kurunegala District Secretary, Chandana Dissanayake, senior government officials and security forces leaders were present on this occasion.

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627 confirmed dead, 190 persons missing as at 6:00 a.m. today [08]

Published

6 hours ago

2025/12/8

Priyan

The Situation Report issued by the Disaster Management Center at 0600hrs on 8th December 3035 confirms that 627 persons have lost their lives due to floods and landslide that occurred in the island during the past few days. The number of persons missing was 190.