Shafali, Smriti secure India's 84-run win over WI in first T20I
Gros Islet: Opening duo of Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana hammered scintillating half-centuries as the Indian women's team notched up a comfortable 84-run win over hosts West Indies in the first T20I here.
The 15-year-old Shafali and Mandhana shared a record 143-run opening partnership as India posted 185 for 4 in their stipulated 20 overs at the Darren Sammy National Cricket Stadium here.
The visitors then returned to restrict West Indies for 101 for 9 to complete the win on Saturday.
Pacer Shikha Pandey (2/22), spin duo of Radha Yadav (2/10) and Poonam Yadav (2/24) claimed two wickets each, while both Deepti Sharma (1/15) and Pooja Vastrakar (1/21) accounted for one wicket.
Put into bat, Shafali, playing only her fifth T20I, smashed six boundaries and four sixes to notch up her maiden international half-century.
Mandhana too matched her younger partner, smashing 11 fours in her 46-ball innings as India cruised to 102 for no loss in 10 overs.
The duo recorded the highest partnership for any wicket by an Indian pair in T20Is, bettering the 130 amassed by Thirush Kamini and Punam Raut against Bangladesh in 2013.
Shafali was the first to go when she was dismissed by Shakera Selman in the 16th over.
Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur then produced a 13-ball 21, while Veda Krishnamurthy provided the late charge with a 7-ball 15 to take India to a challenging score.
For the hosts, Selman and Anisa Mohammad snared two wickets each, while Hayley Mathews conceded 39 runs from her four overs and Chinelle Henry bled 26 from the only over she bowled.
Chasing 186 to win, West Indies struggled to stitch partnerships with Shermaine Campbelle top-scoring with a 34-ball 33.
Once the openers -- Hayley Matthews (13) and Natasha MacLean (0) fell early, Campbelle tried to steady the innings but West Indies kept losing wickets on the other end.
Campbelle too couldn't push the pace as her 34-ball innings had just two fours and a six.
Chedean Nation (10), Kyshona Knight (12) and Stacy-Ann King (13) couldn't stay long enough as West Indies were looking down the barrel at 86 for 6 in 14.1 over.
The lower-order then crumbled under pressure as India took a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.
Brief Scores:
India Women 185/4 in 20 overs (Shafali Verma 73, Smriti Mandhana 67; Anisa Mohammed 2/35, Shakera Selman 2/36) beat West Indies Women 101/9 in 20 overs (Shermaine Campbelle 33; Radha Yadav 2/10, Shikha Pandey 2/22) by 84 runs.
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NEET student hangs self in Rajasthan's Sikar
Jaipur (PTI): A student preparing for the NEET examination allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself in a rented room in Rajasthan's Sikar on Friday, police said.
According to the police, the student allegedly hanged himself from a ceiling fan using his sister's scarf while one sister was attending coaching classes and the other was in the bathroom.
He had appeared in the NEET UG exam 2026, which was cancelled due to paper leak, they said.
Udyog Nagar SHO Rajesh Kumar said that the deceased, identified as Pradeep Meghwal, was a resident of Kanika ki Dhani village in Jhunjhunu's Gudha Gaudji area.
He had been living in a rented room in Sikar's Jaldhari Nagar area with his two sisters while preparing for NEET over the last three years.
His elder sister later found him hanging and informed the landlord and police after bringing him down, officials said.
The SHO said the body was kept at SK Hospital mortuary, and a postmortem had not been conducted.
The student's father, Rajesh Kumar Meghwal, told police that Pradeep's NEET examination had gone well and the family was expecting him to score around 650 marks.
Former Rajasthan deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot expressed grief over the incident and linked it to anxiety among students after reports of irregularities and paper leaks in NEET 2026.
Pilot said repeated paper leak incidents and cancellation of examinations were affecting students' mental health and demanded a time-bound investigation and strict action against those responsible.
