[Nasheman news] Hyderabad  Kedar Jadhav sent a strong message to selectors before the World Cup with a street-smart 81 to guide India to a six-wicket win over Australia in the first ODI, here on Saturday.

Jadhav, whose unbeaten 87-ball 81 was laced with nine fours and a six, was supported by Mahendra Singh Dhoni (59 not out off 72 balls) as India took a 1-0 lead in the five match series, which is their last before the World Cup in May.

Wearing their brand new jerseys, the men in blue were asked to chase a modest 237 by the visitors after the home team bowlers did a brilliant job to restrict them to 236/7.

Dhoni who hit the winning runs, a four off Marcus Stoinis over the infield, with 10 balls to spare joined hands with Jadhav for an unbroken 141-run stand for the fifth wicket.

Dhoni came in to bat when India were in a spot at 99/4 with skipper Virat Kohli (44 off 45 balls) and vice-captain Rohit Sharma (37 off 66 balls) back in the hut.

Dhoni’s innings was studded with six fours and a six but it was Jadhav who guided India past the finishing line. Jadhav scored his fifth half century, while Dhoni brought up his 71st in his 339th ODI, playing through cramps towards the later part of the match.

The visitors started well, shaving off the Indian top order under 100 runs by the 24th over. Nathan Coulter-Nile (2/46 in 10 overs) and Adam Zampa (2/49 in 10 overs) caused the damage.

Rohit and Kohli had stitched together a partnership of 76 for the second wicket but just when they were looking threatening, Kohli was trapped in front by Zampa. The umpire initially turned down the appeal, but reviews showed the ball had pitched in line and was hitting the wickets.

Rohit was removed by Coulter-Nile with a cross seam delivery that took the leading edge and went to mid-off for skipper Aaron Finch to grab the opportunity.

Ambati Rayudu (13) was caught behind off Zampa as India looked in trouble. From there on, Dhoni and Jadhav paced the chase to perfection with the former playing second fiddle and the latter taking the charge.

Earlier, Indian bowlers once again underlined their collective might by not allowing the Aussies to ever get going.

Pacer Mohammed Shami led the attack with figures of 2/44 in 10 overs as chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav (2/46 in 10 overs) Ravindra Jadeja (0/33 in 10 overs) and Jadhav (1/31) made up for a rare off-day by Jasprit Bumrah (2/60 in 10 overs).

Usman Khawaja (50) and Glenn Maxwell (40) scored the runs for the visitors but never looked in full flow as the Indian attack displayed its versatility.

Shami was on song from start to finish as he bowled a brilliant wicketless first spell, which was seen off by Stoinis (37) and Khawaja who added 87 runs for the second wicket after the early dismissal of skipper Aaron Finch for a duck.

The Powerplay yielded just 38 runs with Stoinis and Khawaja then changing gears off Vijay Shankar’s bowling.

In the next five overs, Australia scored 33 runs and looked like regaining ground when Jadhav (1/31 from 7 overs) got a breakthrough with a half-tracker that Stoinis looked to whip away through the mid-wicket region.

Khawaja completed his sixth half-century in ODIs but couldn’t continue, holing out to Shankar at deep mid-wicket boundary off Kuldeep.

Maxwell joined Peter Handscomb at 97/3 and the pair stemmed the rot somewhat.

Kuldeep then removed Handscomb with a tossed up delivery outside off stump that beat the batsman and Dhoni completed an easy stumping.

India then took the game by the scruff of the neck in the second Powerplay with Jadhav and Jadeja checking the run flow.

Shami castled Maxwell and debutant Ashton Turner (21) to leave the Aussies staring at a sub-200 score. But Alex Carey (36 off 37 not out) and Nathan Coulter-Nile (28 off 27) added 62 runs for the seventh wicket.

Brief scores: Australia 236/7 (Usman Khawaja 50, Glenn Maxwell 40; Mohammed Shami (2/44), Kuldeep Yadav (2/46) and Jasprit Bumrah (2/60); India 240/4 (Kedar Jadhav 81 not out, MS Dhoni 59 not out; Nathan Coulter-Nile 2/46, Adam Zampa 2/49)

[Nasheman news] Panaji Ailing Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar was discharged from a hospital on Sunday, an hour after he was admitted for “tests and examinations”, an official said here.

“The Chief Minister was discharged after few medical tests. The reports are awaited. He has left for his residence,” the official from the state-run Goa Medical College, said on the condition of anonymity.

Parrikar was diagnosed with advanced pancreatic cancer in February 2018 and has been in and out of hospitals in Goa, Mumbai, Delhi and New York since.

He was admitted at the Goa Medical College for nearly a week last month after he suffered from internal bleeding.

[Nasheman news] New Delhi Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday spoke with the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Ahmad bin Khalifa Al Thani, over telephone and discussed various matters of common interest.

Modi mentioned that India attached great significance to further strengthening her relations with Qatar, while thanking the Emir for his leadership and guidance to the rapid strengthening of bilateral relations, especially in recent years, an official statement said.

The two leaders also discussed the regional situation, with the Prime Minister underscoring that terrorism continues to pose serious risk to peace and security in the region and beyond.

He stressed the importance of “demonstrable and immediate action” by all concerned for putting an end to all forms of terrorism and ending all support to it.

The leaders noted the historic significance of participation of India’s External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj as Guest of Honour in the 46th Council of the Foreign Ministers of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Abu Dhabi on Friday.

[Nasheman news] New Delhi  The recovery of 36 live cartridges and a suspected bomb from a dustbin near a bus terminal in south Delhi on Thursday sent the police into a tizzy today.

The Police and other security agencies in the national capital are on high alert following the Pulwama terror attack in which 40 Central Reserve Police Force troopers were killed on February 14. 

“The Police Control Room received a call around 9.40 a.m. on Thursday from a sanitation worker informing it that he had found 36 cartridges, while he was cleaning a dustbin near the Ambedkar Nagar bus terminal. The caller also found an electronic device, a suspected bomb,” Deputy Commissioner of Police Vijay Kumar told IANS.

“The recovered articles are being examined,” Kumar said.

“It appears that someone threw the cartridges and the suspected bomb into the dustbin hurriedly because of tightened security. We are scanning the CCTV footage to identify the accused,” the DCP said, adding a case has been registered. 

[Nasheman news] Fatorda Churchill Brothers FC dampened Chennai City’s plan of securing their maiden I-League title with a dramatic 3-2 win over the table toppers at the Tilak Maidan here on Friday.

Chennai City drew the first blood in the 29th minute through Sandro R before Willis Plaza (38′) restored parity for the hosts. The Red Machines took the lead through Christ Remi (50′) once again but it was Pedro Manzi (69′) who made no mistake in converting from the penalty spot. 

Their efforts were wasted as “Hero of the Match” Willis Plaza completed his brace (71′) to help his team secure victory.

With this win, Churchill elevated to the third spot with 34 points while Chennai City FC continued to lead the table with 40 points, 4 points ahead of second-placed Quess East Bengal who have played one match less.

East Bengal will need to win their next match against Minerva Punjab FC on March 3 to stay afloat in the title hunt. Anything except a win for the Red and Golds would seal the title for the Southerners, courtesy their superior head-to-head record.

Chennai City, with the urgency to clinch their maiden Hero I-League title with a win against Churchill Brothers, started on a safe note on Friday. Unlike their normal attacking style, it seemed like they were trying to soak in the pressure as Churchill Brothers went pressing hard right from the start.

Willis Plaza, Khalid Aucho and Nicholas Fernandes were combining well to breach the Chennai City defence time and again but somehow couldn’t find a way to finish their attempts. A foul by Wayne Vaz on Nestor Gordillo earned the visitors a free-kick at the top of the box.

Spanish midfielder Sandro’s free-kick, after a deflection from Plaza, gave Chennai the lead in the 29th minute. Churchill Brothers thereafter went on attacking in regular intervals through the combination of Nicholas Fernandes and Khalid Aucho to feed Plaza time and again.

Their efforts soon yielded result when Plaza successfully tapped in from an inch-perfect cross by Fernandes in the 38th minute.

The first half ended with the scoreboard locked at 1-1.

The second half began with Chennai pressing hard for the lead but it was again Churchill Brothers who turned the game Willis on its head. Following a clever interception, Churchill Brothers took the lead soon through Christ Remi.

Churchill Brothers never really stopped trying hard to score their insurance goal but timely interceptions by Chennai City kept them at bay. Chennai City, who played a lot around the midfield, tried a lot from counter-attacks.

Owing to a handball by Wayne Vaz inside the penalty box, Chennai City were awarded a penalty and Pedro Manzi made no mistake to restore the parity in the 69th minute. But Churchill cut their joy short by scoring the winner within two minutes.

[Nasheman news] Hyderabad India captain Virat Kohli on Friday said the World Cup team will be decided before the Indian Premier League (IPL) starts and performances in the cash-rich domestic T20 tournament will have no bearing on team selection.

“No, I don’t see the IPL having any influence on World Cup selection. I think that will be very, very radical sort of analysis,” Kohli said on the eve of the first ODI against Australia.

“We need to have a solid team. Before we head into the IPL, we need to be absolutely clear of what team we want for the World Cup. I don’t see anything changing on how the IPL goes for any of the players.

“If one or two players do not have a good IPL season, it doesn’t mean that they are out of the picture for the World Cup. Those things are not going to matter,” Kohli set the record straight.

Young Rishabh Pant has been in poor form of late but Kohli said he will be given more opportunities but not at the cost of playing a bowler less.

“We will have to think about the combinations. I don’t think playing a bowler less is a good idea because with the extra fielder in till the 40th over, it becomes very difficult to sort of get a few guys to chip in with a few overs here and there.

“We will have to work out the batting combination to try and give game-time to the guys we want to. But, I don’t see the bowling combination changing,” the skipper said.

Kohli also lavished praise on KL Rahul and hinted that he did impress the team management with his good shows in the T20s

“It augurs really well. KL, when he plays well, is operating at a different level I feel. We have seen him do that in the IPL last year and in patches over the last season we played as a team.”

Kohli explained what makes Rahul special.

“It’s very difficult to find a consistent player, who can play good cricketing shots and still win you games at a strike-rate of over 140 or 150. He has all the shots and has a solid game as well.

“…it will be interesting to see what happens in the final World Cup squad. Definitely, he has made a strong case for himself. It’s good he’s in great nick and hopefully he can carry it forward.”

Australia head coach Justin Langer meanwhile, backed top-order batsman Aaron Finch to rediscover his form during the ODI series.

Australia’s limited overs captain is going through a prolonged lean patch and has failed to register a single half-century in his last 19 innings in ODIs and T20Is. 

“He’s such a good player, such a good person, captain of the team, we know he’ll come good. We just got to keep giving him plenty of care and support. We know he’ll come good. There’s no more destructive player in the world,” Langer told reporters.

“We talk about ‘Maxi’ (Glenn Maxwell), Marcus Stoinis, a number of our players who can be so destructive. But when he’s going, he is as destructive as a player as there is in white-ball cricket. We know he’ll come good and we’ll be patient with him,” he added.

Langer revealed that Finch has not let his form affect his composure and performance as captain.

“Another important part about leadership is that he’s really consistent. We haven’t see any real change in his personality or his attitude around the group, so that’s a real credit to him. That’s why he is the captain of the team,” the coach said.

“My experience of every captain, the most important thing is they’re playing really good cricket. He’s got to keep his attention on that. He’s got lots of support around him. Like I say, he’s such a good person, he’s got to be Aaron Finch, be himself. He’s doing that. He’s one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet. We’ll just keep encouraging him to be himself. His runs will come, keep encouraging him to be himself and I’m sure he’ll come good soon,” he added.

[Nasheman news] New Delhi BJP President Amit Shah on Friday described Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman as a symbol of “bravery and valour” and said the diplomatic pressure by India forced Pakistan to order his release within 24 hours.

“Abhinandan’s safe return is a matter of immense pleasure. He is a symbol of bravery and valour. Pakistan bowed before the diplomatic pressure put by India under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and ordered his release within 24 hours,” he said in a statement.

Shah said the entire nation was proud of Abhinandan’s courage and valour.

“India is glad to have you back. May you continue to serve the nation and IAF with unparalleled passion and dedication. Best wishes for your bright future,” he said.

Indian Air Force (IAF) pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, captured by Pakistanis on February 27 after his MiG-21 crashed in the Pakistan-occupied territory, returned to India on Friday night.

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan had announced on Thursday that the IAF pilot would be released on Friday as a “gesture of peace”.

[Nasheman news] Jammu Three civilians were killed in shelling by the Pakistani army on the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district, officials said on Saturday.

Police said a woman and her two children were killed in Salotri village of Jhalas area in Krishna Ghati sector of the LoC when a shell fired by Pakistan army exploded inside a house on Friday night.

“Besides, four others including two civilians and two army soldiers have been injured in Pakistani shelling and firing,” a police officer said.

Indian and Pakistani soldiers have been trading heavy fire on the LoC in Poonch and Rajouri districts since the last eight days.

Local residents have described the hostilities on the LoC as ‘war-like situation’.

Authorities have closed all educational institutions within 5 km from the LoC in these two districts and asked people to remain indoors.

[Nasheman news] New Delhi Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, who was released from Pakistan’s custody on Friday, reached Delhi around midnight from Amritsar.

An enthusiastic crowd had gathered outside the Palam airport to welcome him.

He would be taken straight to Army’s Research and Referral Hospital here for thorough medical check up, sources said.

Abhinandan was captured by Pakistan Army on February 27 in the Pakistan administered Kashmir after his MiG 21 was hit, and he ejected.

He was chased by a mob and later rescued by the Pakistan Army.

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan had announced on Thursday that Abhinandan would be released on Friday without any preconditions as a “gesture of peace”.