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Vastrakar’s career-best four-for leads India to Asian Games final
Pooja Vastrakar could have well been watching the Asian Games back home on TV. She was only initially named as a non travelling reserve in the squad, who was to fly back home after a week-long pre-departure camp in Bengaluru. But when Anjali Sarvani pulled up injured a day prior to departure, the direction of Vastrakar’s flight changed from Indore to Hangzhou.
A week later, on Sunday, Vastrakar proved why she should have been considered in the first place. Her career-best T20I figures of 4 for 17 helped skittle Bangladesh for 51 in the semi-final as India vaulted themselves into gold medal contention. Up next in the final on Monday will be the winner of Pakistan versus Sri Lanka in the second semi-final.
India will head into that game knowing their regular captain Harmanpreet Kaur will be available after her two match suspension ended with Sunday’s game, which incidentally was given to her following an acrimonious series against Bangladesh in July.
Vastrakar’s early incision
Nip-backers, outswingers, hard lengths – Vastrakar showed she’s no one-trick pony as she got it to zip around with the new ball. And in the first over itself, she had two wickets with two different deliveries. Shathi Rani was caught behind first ball of the match after being enticed to drive an away-swinger and Shamima Sultana was trapped lbw playing all around one that hit the seam and jagged back to hit her below-the-knee roll.
In her next over, Vastrakar should have had a third but Smriti Mandhana grassed a sitter at mid-off. Sobhana Mostary couldn’t capitalise, managing just one more run, before being dismissed for 8 in Vastrakar’s third straight over inside the powerplay. And it was almost an action replay of the reprieve. Except Mandhana saw this carefully lodge in her palms.
In the next over, debutant Titas Sadhu picked up her maiden wicket with an excellent delivery of her own. Angled in full from wide of the crease, Sadhu had Shorna Akter playing all around a full delivery that held its line to crash into the middle. At 21 for 4 after the powerplay, Bangladesh were tied in knots on a surface that held up considerably, where shot-making wasn’t easy. Under the covers for two full days in the lead-up to the match, the surface seemed a touch unpredictable, which further magnified Bangladesh’s decision to bat early into the contest.
Run outs add to Bangladesh’s misery
It wasn’t just shot selection that hampered Bangladesh, though. Their running between the wickets was equally poor, and accounted for two run outs that should have never been. Nigar Sultana, one of Bangladesh’s most-accomplished batters, was out attempting a single to extra cover where Devika Vaidya swooped in to effect a direct hit at the bowler’s end.
Two balls later, Fahima Khatun was run out without facing a ball when Ritu Moni dabbed one to short third, where Kanika Ahuja fired a direct hit at the striker’s end. Khatun may have survived had she put in a dive; she didn’t. At 25 for 6, Bangladesh were in danger of not lasting the overs. Nahida Akter and Moni helped Bangladesh huff and puff past 50 before they folded in the 18th over, with five of India’s bowlers finishing among the wickets.
Rodrigues helps India cruise home
India’s chase wasn’t without its own initial hitches. Smriti Mandhana was out to Marufa Akter, misjudging the line of her delivery as she lobbed a leading edge to point for 7. Then with the target two blows away, Shafali Verma who seemed in a hurry, especially in trying to muscle her way against spin, perished. Looking to get inside the line and pull, Shafali was beaten by the slowness of the surface as the ball kept a tad low and sneaked through her legs to crash into the stumps. Rodrigues treaded spin with her patented touch game, using the pace of the bowlers to nudge and deflect deliveries into gaps to make a polished unbeaten 20 to see India home in Ahuja’s company with 70 balls to spare.
Brief scores: India 52 for 2 in 8.2 overs (Jemimaah Rodrigues 20*, Shafali Varma 17; Marufa Akter 1-13, Fahima Khatun 1-07) beat Bangladesh 51 all out in 17.5 overs (Nigar Sultana 12, Pooja Vastrakar 4-17, Titas Sadhu 1-10, Amanjot Kaur 1-10, Rajeshwari Gayakwad 1-08, Devika Vaidya 1-00) by eight wickets
A meeting between President Anura Kumara Disanayake and Admiral Samuel J. Paparo, the Commander of the United States Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM), was held today (21) at the Presidential Secretariat.
During the discussion, Admiral Paparo extended his best wishes to President Disanayake and the new government on their planned initiatives. He also acknowledged Sri Lanka’s continued support in ensuring the security of the Indian Ocean region and maintaining a peaceful maritime environment.
Furthermore, Admiral Paparo reaffirmed the United States’ commitment to strengthening the enduring bilateral ties between the two nations and expressed support for Sri Lanka’s new governmental policies.
President Disanayake conveyed his appreciation for the assistance provided by the United States in enhancing human resources within Sri Lanka’s defence sector. The President also acknowledged the longstanding support extended by the U.S. in this regard.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Vijitha Herath, Senior Additional Secretary to the President Roshan Gamage, U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka Julie Chung, Lieutenant Colonel Anthony C. Nelson of the U.S. Army, and Senior Foreign Policy Advisor to the United States Indo-Pacific Command David Ranz were also present at the meeting.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has stated that the introduction of the demerit points system in its code of conduct aims to establish a deterrent mechanism – focusing on the threat of suspension rather than suspension itself. This approach is designed to encourage a change in the behaviour of players, officials, and others.
In a communique to the franchises, the BCCI explained, “The IPL believes that the threat of a suspension is the strongest deterrent to bring about a change in behaviour, hence the system of accumulated Demerit Points which is included in the Code of Conduct.”
The new system is an adaptation of features from the International Cricket Council (ICC) Code but with slight differences, as reported by Cricbuzz. While the ICC carries forward points for five years, the BCCI system retains them for only three years. “The demerit points received by a player or team official under the regulations remain on their record for a period of thirty-six (36) months,” the BCCI says.
“Upon accumulation of Demerit Points, the Player or Team Official is awarded suspension(s). The details regarding the same are provided under Article 7.6 of the Regulations. An example of suspension through accumulation of Demerit Points is provided under Article 7.8 of the Regulations,” the mail mentions.
Article 7.6 specifies that the accumulation of four-seven demerit points will result in a one-match suspension, 8-11 points will lead to a two-match suspension, 12-15 points will incur a three-match suspension, and 16 or more points will result in a five-match suspension. Article 7.8 outlines the system for accumulating points over a period of three years and explains how the incremental system functions in the event of multiple breaches within these 36 months.
The BCCI also outlines how the demerits points are imposed under the new regulation. “Demerit Points will be imposed upon a Player or Team Official found to have committed an offence under the Code of Conduct. The number of Demerit Points imposed will be calculated by reference to the sanction imposed for the particular offences.”
Understandably, the levels of the breach will determine the number of demerit points. For instance, a fine of 25% of the match fee carries one (1) demerit point. A Level 2 offence attracts 3-4 demerit points, a Level 3 offence results in 5-6 demerit points, and a Level 4 breach leads to 7-8 demerit points. A key distinction is that the punishment may be imposed for a specific period or a certain number of matches. The match referee or an ombudsman determines this.
BCCI clarifies, “Where a Match Referee or Ombudsman imposes a period of suspension on any Player or Team Official, then, unless such period is for a fixed period of time (for example, one year) then, any such period of suspension shall be referenced by Suspension Points. Each Match in the League shall carry the weightage of one (1) Suspension Point. To clarify, a sanction of one (1) Suspension Point shall result in a one (1) Match suspension.”
The Pandya case
The BCCI has made it clear that Hardik Pandya will serve a one-match suspension for the breach from last season but will not incur any demerit points. “Any sanction imposed prior to the 2025 Season shall continue to be complied by the Player or Team Official. However, such sanctions imposed prior to the 2025 Season shall not result in imposition of Demerit Points.
“For example, a Player receiving a match suspension in his last game of the 2024 Season will serve the match suspension in the 2025 Season but will get no Demerit Points for this suspension,” the email states this and goes on to add, without explicitly referring to it, but clearly alluding to the Pandya case. “A minimum over-rate offence under the Regulations shall no longer carry a match suspension for the team captain. A minimum over-rate offence shall only result in the imposition of fine and fielding restrictions.”
There is also a system for an appeal against the sanctions, but it requires a payment of Rs 90 lakh. Says the mail, “Under the Regulations, any sanction imposed under Level 2 or Level 3 offence is appealable before the BCCI Ombudsman. However, any Player, Team Official or Franchisee that wishes to appeal such sanctions, may only do so upon the payment of an Appeal Fee which shall be the sum of INR 90 Lakh. This Appeal Fee is refundable only if the appeal is completely successful before the Ombudsman.”
According to the BCCI, the new regulations have been approved by the Governing Council of the IPL. The captains and managers of the teams were briefed about it at Thursday’s meeting at Cricket Centre.
Pakistan’s high-risk, high-reward tactics finally bore fruit after two failed attempts as the Salman Agha led side stormed to a nine-wicket victory against New Zealand in an enthralling battle that saw 411 runs being amassed at Eden Park Hasan Nawaz’s maiden T20I century outplayed Mark Chapman’s 94 as Pakistan chased down 205 in just 16 overs and kept the five-match series alive at 1-2.
Pakistan backed their new openers Nawaz and Mohammed Haris in the post Mohammed Rizwan-Babar Azam era and they repaid the faith by putting up a 74-run opening stand off just 35 balls to lay the perfect foundation for the chase. Salman capitalised on the flying start to score 51 not out and was involved in an unbroken 133-run second-wicket stand. Nawaz, who was coming off two successive ducks, blazed away the fastest hundred by a Pakistan batter in T20Is, off just 44 balls, in a sensational chase.
Chapman’s blistering knock off just 44 balls set New Zealand up for what seemed like an above-par total at the innings break. After losing Finn Allen for a three-ball duck in the first over by Shaheen Shah Afridi, Tim Seifert (19 off nine) and Chapman pushed New Zealand past early jitters. Seifert fell to Haris Rauf in the fifth over but Chapman didn’t slow down.
He pulled and hooked the short balls, brought out beautiful cover drives against seamers and punished loose deliveries from Abrar Ahmed and Shadab Khan. He brought up his fourth half-century against Pakistan off 29 balls. This was also his first T20I fifty in almost a year.
Pakistan got the much-needed breakthrough in the tenth over when Daryl Mitchell (17 off 11) chased a wide delivery of Shadab and miscued to Rauf. Chapman kept finding boundaries, however, even when Pakistan captain Agha brought himself on and leaked 13 runs off his only over.
His strong bottom-hand and exceptional placement saw him smash 11 fours and four sixes. He was eventually deceived by an Afridi slower ball in the 13th over.
Pakistan fought back with quick wickets including two double-wicket overs from Rauf and Abrar but Michael Bracewell’s 31 off 18 ensured New Zealand crossed 200.
After two disappointing outings, Haris and Nawaz gave the visitors a dream start. Haris began with two sixes off Kyle Jamieson’s first over of the innings and followed it up with two fours against Jacob Duffy. Nawaz had a tough time early on with his timing but still found boundaries through streaky edges. Pakistan reached their joint-fastest team fifty in men’s T20Is, in four overs.
Duffy removed Haris for a 20-ball 41 with a bouncer in the sixth over and Pakistan ended the phase with 75 for 1, their highest powerplay total in men’s T20Is, moving past the 73 they scored against England in 2016.
Nawaz rode his luck but made sure to hang around. He was not particularly convincing against short balls early on but he was able to see the balls more clearly as the innings progressed. Though he started the chase playing second fiddle to Haris, Nawaz took charge after the powerplay.
His first confident strike came against Ish Sodhi in the seventh over, when he picked a loopy googly and clubbed it over long-on for a six. He brought up his maiden T20I fifty off 26 balls in the ninth over and propelled Pakistan to 124 for 1 at the halfway stage.
Nawaz was dropped on 68 by Sodhi off Ben Sears’ bowling but New Zealand couldn’t do much on a batting-friendly pitch with dew also making the task hard for the bowlers. Nawaz eventually hammered ten fours and seven sixes in his 45-ball stay.
Unlike Nawaz, Agha was precise and clever in his batting that fetched him six fours and two sixes. The duo scored 65 runs in the last four overs of the chase to take the team home early.
Nawaz brought up his century off the penultimate ball, before Pakistan completed the fastest 200-plus chase in men’s T20Is.
Brief scores:
Pakistan 207 for 1 in 16 overs (Hasan Nawaz 105*, Salman Agha 51*, Mohammad Haris 41, Jacob Duffy 1-37) beat New Zealand 204 in 19.5 overs (Tim Seifert 19, Mark Chapman 94,Daryl Mitchell 17, Michael Bracewell 31, Ish Sodhi 10; Shaheen Shah Afridi 2-36, Abrar Ahmed 2-43, Haris Rauf 3-29, Abbas Afridi 2-24, Shadab Khan 1-33) by nine wickets
[Cricinfo]
Commander of USINDOPACOM Admiral Samuel J. Paparo calls on President Dissanayake
IPL 2025: Demerit Points System explained, Pandya’s suspension to continue
Nawaz slams maiden ton as Pakistan chase 205 in 16 overs
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