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Suryakumar’s 83 pulls one back for India
A relentless Suryakumar Yadav denied West Indies the opportunity to wrap up the five-match T20I series before it shifted base to the United States as his 44-ball 83 was pivotal in India’s comfortable seven-wicket win in chase of 159/5. Suryakumar had Tilak Varma for company, who carried on from his fifty in the previous game to get an unbeaten 49 off 37 and see off the chase after the former’s dismissal.
Suryakumar walked out to bat on the fifth ball of the first over after debutant Yashasvi Jaiswal miscued a big shot across the line on a slower ball from Obed McCoy. Suryakumar straightaway laid down his murderous intention for the evening by whipping the first ball he faced for a four over mid-wicket and then followed it up with a pull over square leg for a six. He then went down on one knee against Akeal Hosein, shaping up to play a sweep but instead sliced it over point.
Alzarri Joseph dented India for the second time in the Power-Play when he dismissed Shubman Gill but Tilak Varma walked out and sang a similar tune to Suryakumar. The first two balls he faced were both hit for fours – through extra cover and then over short third man. The duo then took McCoy apart in the last over of the PowerPlay to take India to 60/2 in 6 overs.
Tilak camped at the non-striker’s end to watch a familiar carnage unfold as Suryakumar continued to play his shots and reached his 50 in just 23 balls. Even as a drizzle came around, there was no respite for the West Indies bowlers as Suryakumar was in sublime touch, unfurling one audacious stroke after another. Romario Shepherd attempted to change the course of the game by taking the pace off the ball against the swashbuckler but in vain as Suryakumar saw through and found ways to shift across and hit him over fine leg as well as backward point. India coasted to 97 for 2 in 10 overs, the asking rate dragged down to just 6.30 an over.
Suryakumar’s urgency to get India on the series scoresheet meant India were well ahead of the DLS par score, if rain made a bigger intervention than just the drizzle that was around. Suryakumar looked on course to even get a hundred before polishing off the chase when he perished to an innocuous leg side ball that he flicked with all his might straight to Brandon King at fine leg.
Tilak took control following Suryakumar’s exit and ensured there were no late slip ups like they’d crept in, in the opening game of the series. Tilak finished one short of a second successive T20I fifty as Hardik Pandya completed the chase with a six down the track off Powell in the 18th over.
Hardik Pandya used four overs of spin in the Power-Play to put the West Indian top-order off their game. They responded by hitting each of India’s three spinners for a four or a six off the first ball of their respective opening overs (including Kuldeep Yadav’s over in the seventh) to stamp their authority. They reached 38/0 in 6 overs, with 29 of those coming from four overs of spin.
The next fours overs, also all spin, fetched 35 runs for the loss of Kyle Mayers’s wicket, taking West Indies to 73/1 in 10 overs.
West Indies’ most exciting batter in the format walked out to face Kuldeep, who’d just trapped Johnson Charles leg before and sent him packing with an excellent review. On the second ball he faced from the wrist spinner, he danced down the track, only to york himself. He repeated it just the next ball, and connected to smash a six over long-on and then premeditated a switch hit to cart a leg side ball over extra cover. Pooran’s adventurous attempts to throw Kuldeep off his rhythm brought his downfall as the next time he stepped out to play a big shot, he missed and was stumped in the 15th over.
Kuldeep turned the screws further on West Indies by ending Brandon King’s stay for a run-a-ball 42 as the opener reached out to a ball that was outside the off-stump and turned further away and hit it straight back to the bowler.
West Indies got 10, 8, 17 and 11 in the last four overs with Powell finishing with an unbeaten 40 off just 19 balls to carry his side past the 150-run mark. Powell was particularly disdainful against Arshdeep Singh, starting off with a six over extra cover at the start of the 19th over. Arshdeep missed with his attempted wide yorkers, conceded extras as well as another six in the expensive over. Mukesh Kumar, who was bowling just his second over of the game and the last of the innings, was hit for a big six in the 11-run over. Powell’s efforts took West Indies to a sizeable total, which Suryakumar picked apart expertly in chase.
Iran has named Mojtaba Khamenei as its new supreme leader, just over a week after the assassination of his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei , in joint United States-Israeli strikes that have.plunged the entire region into a sprawling war.
The 56-year-old, who will now be charged with leading the Islamic Republic through the biggest crisis in its 47-year history, was named by clerics as his father’s successor on Sunday.
Key leaders, Iran’s powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and the armed forces were quick to pledge their backing to the new leader.
Ali Larijani, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, who has been tasked with steering Iran’s security strategy since the US and Israel launched their all-out offensive, called for unity around the new supreme leader.
Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf welcomed the choice, saying that following the new supreme leader was a “religious and national duty”.
Mojtaba Khamenei has never run for office or been subjected to a public vote, but has for decades been a highly influential figure in the inner circle of the supreme leader, cultivating deep ties to the IRGC.
In recent years, Khamenei has increasingly been touted as a top potential replacement for his father. His selection could be a sign that more hardline factions in Iran’s establishment retain power, and could indicate that the government has little desire to agree to a deal or negotiations in the short term as the war enters its second week.
Al Jazeera’s Ali Hashem described Khamenei as his “father’s gatekeeper”.
“He adopts the positions of his father with respect to the United States, with respect to Israel. So we are expecting a confrontational leader. We’re not expecting any moderation,” he said.
“However, if this war comes to an end and he is still alive, and he is able to continue running the country, there is going to be big potential… to find new routes for Iran,” Hashem said.
(Aljazeera)
Global oil prices have jumped above $100 (£75.11) a barrel for the first time since 2022 as the escalating US-Israeli war with Iran has fuelled fears of prolonged disruption to shipments through the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran on Sunday named Mojtaba Khamenei to succeed his father Ali Khamenei as Supreme Leader, signalling that a week into the conflict hardliners remain in charge of the country.
The US and Israel launched fresh waves of airstrikes across Iran over the weekend, hitting multiple targets including oil depots.
Major disruption to energy supplies from the region threatens to push up prices for consumers and businesses around the world.
Early on Monday in Asia, Brent crude was around 15.5% higher at $107.16, while Nymex light sweet was up by more than 17% at $106.77.
Stock markets in the Asia-Pacific region fell sharply in early trading on Monday, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 index down by more than 5% and the ASX 200 in Australia more than 3.5% lower.
Many in the markets predicted that oil would hit the $100 a barrel mark this week.
In the event it took about a minute to jump 10%, and then another 15 minutes to rise a further 10% in early Asian trading.
Last week the markets had been relatively relaxed about the seeming nightmare scenario for millions of barrels of crude and liquefied natural gas trapped in the Gulf, unable or unwilling to transit the Strait of Hormuz.
But the escalations over the weekend, alongside scenes of destruction of energy infrastructure both in Iran and across the Gulf, saw the markets take rapid fright.
The question now is where does this go? Some analysts argue that if the shutdown in the strait lasts until the end of March, we could see record oil prices above $150 a barrel.
The existing rise is likely to further increase petrol prices, and those of important derivative products such as jet fuel and vital precursors for fertilisers.
The physical supplies from the Gulf are mainly consumed in Asia.
Already however there are signs that Asian consumers are bidding up prices for US gas, with some tankers originally heading for Europe turning around in the mid-Atlantic.
US President Donald Trump responded to the jump in prices by saying that short term rises were a “small price to pay” for removing Iran’s nuclear threat.
His energy secretary told US broadcasters on Sunday that Israel, not the US, was targeting Iran’s energy infrastructure, amid some concern about rising domestic pump prices caused by the war.
(BBC)
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