Hardik, Rahul power India to 208/6 in first T20I
Mohali, Sep 20: K L Rahul and Hardik Pandya's audacious strokeplay helped India post a daunting 208 for six in the first T20 International against Australia here on Tuesday.
With his strike rate under scanner, Rahul made a statement with a high-quality 55 off 35 balls before Hardik smashed an unbeaten 71 off just 30 balls, including five sixes.
Suryakumar Yadav also played some breathtaking strokes in his 46 off 25 balls.
Expecting dew, Australia opted to bowl and handed debut to Tim David. Jasprit Bumrah, who was picked for the series after recovering from a back injury, was surprisingly not selected for the series opener. Dinesh Karthik was picked ahead of Rishabh Pant.
Umesh Yadav got a game after more than three years while Deepak Chahar, who is in the scheme of things for the World Cup, sat on the sidelines.
After Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli fell cheaply, Rahul and Suryakumar shared a 68-run stand off 42 balls. It was raining sixes when they were in the middle.
Rahul's walk across the stumps to dispatch Josh Hazlewood over the cow corner made his intent clear before he whipped Cameron Green for a massive six over deep square leg.
Suryakumar's style of play is often awe-inspiring and the Mohali crowd got to see him at his lethal best.
Out of his four sixes, his swat over fine leg off a good length ball from Cummins stood out.
India were able to maintain their tempo in the middle overs as Suryakumar picked up leggie Adam Zampa for two successive sixes in the long on and deep midwicket.
Hardik then took over and pushed India past 200. He was quick to punish anything short from the pacers and his pick up shot off Cummins in the 18th over was the highlight of his entertaining knock.
He smashed three consecutive sixes off Green in the 20th over including a flat one in the mid wicket region. The last five overs yielded 67 runs.
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AIITA welcomes Karnataka’s ban on obscene songs in school events
Bhatkal: The Karnataka unit of the All India Ideal Teachers Association (AIITA) has welcomed the Karnataka government’s decision to strictly ban school children from dancing to obscene songs during educational and cultural programmes in government, aided, and private schools across the state.
AIITA Karnataka State President M. R. Manvi congratulated the government for taking what he termed an important step to preserve the sanctity of education.
“Such decisions to safeguard the dignity of school children and uphold the values of education are the need of the hour. This rule should not be limited to government schools alone but must be strictly implemented in all private educational institutions as well,” he said.
He further urged the government to address other concerns within school programmes.
“The government should not only prohibit obscene dances in the name of school anniversaries, but also ensure that plays and dialogues that incite religious hatred are avoided. Schools should be centres of harmony, not platforms for spreading hatred,” he added.
According to a recent circular issued by the Department of School Education and Literacy, obscene dances are adversely affecting the mental health and moral values of students.
In this regard, schools have been advised to use songs that promote nationalism, positive thinking, the greatness of Kannada culture, and value-based traditions instead of inappropriate content during programmes.
The circular also emphasises that students should be dressed in decent attire.
AIITA also backed the department’s warning that disciplinary action would be taken against head teachers if such guidelines are violated. The association has further demanded that district Deputy Directors of Public Instruction strictly monitor the implementation of these rules.
