Archives for October 2021

Dubai: Skipper Babar Azam hit a composed 51 while Asif Ali hit four sixes in the penultimate over as Pakistan completed a hat-trick of victories in the T20 World Cup with a five-wicket win over Afghanistan in a Super 12 Group 2 match, here on Friday.

Skipper Mohammad Nabi and Gulbadin Naib’s unbeaten knocks in a splendid rearguard action had steered Afghanistan to a competitive 147 for six after they were gasping at 76 for six.

Pakistan overhauled the target in 19 overs, a victory which consolidated their top spot in the points table and enhanced their semifinal chances with minnows Scotland and Namibia up next for them.

His side needing 24 runs from the last two overs, Asif Ali (25 off 7 balls) finished the job in 19th over, hitting four sixes off Karim Jannat.

Pakistan lost Mohammad Rizwan (8) to Mujeeb Ur Rahman early in their chase but Azam and Fakhar Zaman (30) kept the innings under control with their 63-run stand.

Mujeeb was exceptional upfront for Afghanistan as he conceded only 14 runs in his four-over spell but Pakistan batters scored runs off other bowlers.

World’s top leg-spinner Rashid Khan carried Afghanistan’s hopes but by the time he came to bowl Pakistan had put 72 runs on board in 10 overs.

His magic was on work though as he got rid of Mohammad Hafeez (10) to complete a century of wickets in T20 Internationals.

He gave away only 26 runs in his four overs with most of the Pakistan batters playing him with caution.

Shoaib Malik (19) though launched Rashid for a massive six in his last over in which Azam was dropped by Naveen ul haq. However, the Pakistan skipper was bowled off a googly in the last ball.

Azam’s 47-ball knock had only four shots to the fence as he mostly moved the ball around.

Malik ended up caught behind when he flashed hard on a widish ball from Naveen, giving an easy catch to Mohammad Shahzad. Asif was at the crease and he did not disappoint his side.

Earlier, Pakistan’s expansive attack dominated the proceedings but Nabi (35) and Naib (35) seized the momentum with their big-hearted effort under pressure and prevented it from becoming a one-sided contest.

They added 71 runs in 7.1 overs with 43 coming in the last three overs.

It all started when they creamed 21 runs from the 17th over bowled by Hasan Ali. Together they hit 10 boundaries.

However, initially Shaheen Afridi’s probing yorkers, Haris Rauf’s variation and the control of Imad Wasim and Shadab Khan tested the batters of Afghanistan, who opted to bat.

Pacer Afiridi created pressure on Afghan batters straightaway with his toe-targeting fiery first over and left-arm spinner Wasim followed that up with another tight over upfront.

The dot-ball pressure got the better of Hazratullah Zazai (0), who went after Wasim and ended up giving a catch to Haris Rauf.

Mohammad Shahzad (8) lifted Afridi’s overpitched ball in the cover region to get the first boundary of the team but could not clear the mid-on one ball later to start his walk back to the dug out.

Realising that it will be difficult to score off Afridi, former skipper Asghar Afghan (10) and Rahmanullah Gurbaz (10) targeted Wasim and collected 17 runs from his next over, both hitting him for a six each.

However, Afghan’s stay was cut short by Rauf while Gurbaz was sent back by Hasan Ali.

Afghan’s younger brother Jannat (15) came to the crease and together with Najibullah Zadran (22) had the responsibility to keep afloat his side, which was tottering at 39 for four inside Powerplay overs.

It kept getting worse for Afghanistan as neither the runs came at a good pace and they kept losing wickets.

Jannat and Zadran were scalped by Wasim and Shadab respectively, leaving Nabi with a difficult task to put enough runs on the board to defend, which he did with Naib.

Jaipur: The ruling Congress party on Saturday won the majority of seats in the elections for the Alwar and Dholpur Zila Parishad members.

It also won 208 out of total 492 seats of Panchayat Samiti members while the BJP won 158 in both districts.

The results for the Panchayat Samiti and Zila Parishad elections in the two districts, which were held in three phases, was announced after the counting of votes on Saturday.

Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said the Congress has got a huge majority in the Panchayati Raj elections of Alwar and Dholpur districts.

Thanks to all the voters and thanks to the workers for the victory, he tweeted.

PCC chief Govind Singh Dotasra said the results have shown a mirror to the BJP.

The Congress won 24 out of 49 seats of members in Alwar Zila Parishad while BJP got 21 seats and four independents won.

In Dholpur, the Congress won 17 out of total 23 seats while the BJP bagged the remaining six seats.

The ruling party is in full majority to form a board in Alwar Zila Parishad while in Dholpur Zila Parishad, it is in a position to form it with the help of independents.

Out of 492 seats of 22 Panchayat Samiti in Dholpur and Alwar, results of 491 have been declared.

The Congress won 208, BJP 158, BSP 12 and independent 113 seats.

The election of Zila Pramukh and Panchayat Samiti Pradhan will be held on October 30 while Up-Zila Pramukh and Up-Pradhan of Panchayat Samitis will be elected on October 31.

Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Friday appealed for peace as he condoled the death of Kannada actor Puneeth Rajkumar, and said the government will be making all the necessary arrangements for public to pay last respects to their “favourite star”.

“My appeal to the people of Karnataka is when we lose such a great actor, it is natural that it will cause pain, but we should not become emotional and lose patience. We should maintain peace. By giving him (Puneeth) a peaceful send off, we will have to pay rightful respect to him,” Bommai said.

Speaking to reporters here, he requested cooperation from everyone in maintaining peace and to see to it that no untoward incidents take place.

“.. We will be making all arrangements at the Kanteerava Stadium for the public to pay last respects for the entire day tomorrow. So people should pay their last respects peacefully. I request his fans with folded hands to maintain peace,” he said, adding that Puneeth Rajkumar will be accorded government honour and the government will go by the family’s decision on final rites and the place for it.

Puneeth Rajkumar passed away after a heart attack, earlier today. He was 46 and is survived by wife Ashwini Revanth and daughters Drithi and Vanditha.

The CM’s request for peace comes in the backdrop of the violence that took place in the city, following the death of Puneeth’s father and Kannada thespian Rajkumar in 2006.

Noting that Puneeth Rajkumar had complained of tiredness after his morning activities, Bommai said, “his family doctor was consulted who had referred him to Vikram Hospital as the heart condition was critical, and despite all attempts by the Doctors to revive him at the hospital we could not save him.”

“In Puneeth Rajkumar Karnataka has lost a great actor who has made great achievements at a very young age. His whole family is in deep sorrow, the entire people of Karnataka are sad,” he said.

Calling Puneeth Rajkumar, a “youth icon”, the Chief Minister said, it’s “ironic “that the actor had spoken to him over phone on Thursday and an appointment was fixed for meeting today, regarding inauguration of his website on November 1.

“I had asked him to come today (for the meeting).. but fate has taken him elsewhere. I could not meet him. It is really shocking. Great loss to the cultural world. The cinema world has not only lost a leading actor, but a person with leadership qualities. His personality and conduct was humble like his father Dr Rajkumar and was a role model for others,” he said, as he recalled his long association with the Rajkumar family.

Recollecting the time he spent with Puneeth Rajkumar and family, recently, Bommai said he had seen ‘Appu’ (as Puneeth Rajkumar is popularly known) as a kid to what he has grown up to today.

“He had a great future, but fate has played its game, it is cruel. His death has caused irreparable loss and pain. The family is completely shattered.”

Panaji: Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Friday cautioned that the COVID-19 pandemic is not over yet and people should not take it for granted.

The vice president was addressing a select gathering of Konkani and Marathi intellectuals and writers at Raj Bhavan in Goa in the presence of Governor P S Sreedharan Pillai.

In India, we are fortunate, hats off to our scientists, our medical fraternity, our policy makers, the Central and state governments and various institutions. We were able to fight back successfully and compared to many other western countries our performance was better, Naidu said.

But the pandemic is not yet over. This is my caution to the people of my country. Don’t take it for granted, he said.

People must maintain honourable distance and follow hygienic advices given by the government and scientists from time to time, the vice president said.

Washing hands, keeping oneself clean, keeping surroundings neat and clean are elementary things that everyone should follow and also remain physically fit, he said.

Naidu further said that compared to people living in cities, those in rural areas are less affected.

Physical activity has helped people in rural areas along with the native food that they eat, he added.

Surat: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday appeared before a magistrate’s court in Surat city of Gujarat to record his statement in connection with a criminal defamation case filed against him over his remark on the “Modi surname”.

This was the third time the Congress MP appeared before the court in connection with the 2019 case.

The court had on October 26 directed Gandhi to appear before it between 3 pm and 6 pm on October 29 to record his statement.

The former Congress president landed at the Surat Airport in the afternoon and headed to the court, situated in the Athwalines area of the city.

Chief Judicial Magistrate A N Dave had earlier asked Gandhi to appear on October 29 to record his statement further, after the testimonies of two new witnesses were taken since the Congress leader last appeared before the court on June 24 this year.

Prior to it, the Lok Sabha MP from Wayanad in Kerala had appeared before the court in October 2019 and pleaded not guilty for his comment.

BJP legislator from Surat, Purnesh Modi, had filed a complaint against Gandhi in April 2019 under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 499 and 500 that deal with defamation.

In his complaint, the MLA had alleged that Gandhi, while addressing a poll rally in 2019, defamed the entire Modi community by purportedly saying “how come all the thieves have Modi as the common surname?” Purnesh Modi is now a minister in the Gujarat government led by new Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, holding the portfolios of road and building, transport, civil aviation, and tourism and pilgrimage development.

Since Gandhi’s last appearance before the court, testimonies were taken of two more witnesses, the then electoral officer of Kolar in Karnataka, where the Congress leader made the controversial remark, and a videographer employed by the Election Commission to record his speech.

In his address at the rally in Kolar on April 13, 2019 ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, Gandhi had allegedly asked, “Nirav Modi, Lalit Modi, Narendra Modi…how come they all have Modi as the common surname.