Azmatullah Omarzai's 97 lifts Afghanistan to 244 against SA in WC
Ahmedabad, Nov 10: Young all-rounder Azmatullah Omarzai left a lasting impression with an unbeaten 97-run knock, lifting Afghanistan to 244 after a batting collapse in their World Cup match against South Africa here on Friday.
Continuing his good run in the tournament, Omarzai faced 107 balls while hitting seven fours and three sixes. However, he could not record his maiden ODI hundred after failing to score off the last three balls of the final over bowled by Kagiso Rabada.
Gerald Coetzee was the most successful bowler for South Africa, finishing with figures of 4/44 in 10 overs.
Afghanistan were off to a steady start after their skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi opted to bat first, but South Africa meant business as they snared three wickets for four runs to leave their opponents in a spot of bother at 45 for three in the 11th over.
At that point, it seemed like the decision to bat first was backfiring even as Temba Bavuma marshalled his resources well to keep South Africa ahead in the game at the Narendra Modi Stadium.
But even before the Proteas could celebrate the first breakthrough they faced an anxious moment when pacer Lungi Ngidi went off the field after suffering what looked like an ankle or achilles issue.
Ngidi, however, returned to pick the wickets of Rahmat Shah and Mohammad Nabi, who nicked one to Quinton de Kock after facing just three balls, leaving his team at 116 for six in the 28th over.
Having smoked lead pacer Rabada's length ball outside off for a six over long-on, Rahmanullah Gurbaz found the fence again when he produced a lovely cover driver against the same bowler.
Coetzee was welcomed to the attack with two authoritative boundaries by Gurbaz, who raced to 25 off 21 balls.
Desperately looking for a breakthrough, Bavuma introduced Keshav Maharaj into the attack and the left-arm spinner straightaway responded with the big wicket of Gurbaz, who edged a turning delivery to Heinrich Klaasen at the first slip.
Not only did Maharaj strike with his first ball he also enjoyed a wicket-maiden, giving South Africa a bit of a momentum which they used to their advantage by quickly grabbing two more wickets.
Much was expected of Ibrahim Zadran, who scored a brilliant hundred against Australia in their last game, but the opener was done in by a short ball from Coetzee, the batter giving a catch to De Kock after edging his attempted pull shot. De Kock finished with a record six catches behind the stumps.
Having started his spell on a fine note, Maharaj struck again, this time removing opposition captain Shahidi, the extra bounce putting the batter in a tricky position as he shaped himself up to play the cut shot.
Omarzai and Rashid Khan kept the scoreboard ticking during a 44-run stand for the sixth wicket, helping their team cross 150 before the latter fell to a soft dismissal.
Omarzai, then, found another able ally in Noor Ahmad who contributed an useful 26 in a 44-run partnership.
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Airlines got 999 hoax bomb threats till Nov 14 this year; 256 FIRs filed: Govt
New Delhi, Nov 28: Airlines received 999 hoax bomb threats this year till November 14 and as many as 256 FIRs have been filed while guidelines have been issued by aviation security regulator BCAS for objective assessment of threats, the government said on Thursday.
In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol said a total of 1,148 hoax bomb threat messages/calls have been received since August 2022 till November 14, 2024 threatening the operations of international and domestic air travel.
While 999 threats were received by airlines during the period from January to November 14, 2024, the count stood at 122 last year and at 27 for the August-December 2022 period.
"256 FIRs have been filed since January 2024 till 14 November 2024, out of which 163 FIRs have been filed during 14 October- 14 November 2024. 12 arrests have been made in view of hoax bomb threat since January 2024 till 14 November 2024," the minister said.
The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) has issued guidelines for objective assessment of threats. The indicative factor has been useful in reducing time taken by the Bomb Threat Assessment Committee (BTAC) during the decision-making process.
"Also, to reduce the overall time taken for convening BTAC to less than 5 minutes, virtual assembly of BTAC through pre-generated video link has been set up. Further, advisories for compulsory 10 per cent of secondary ladder point check-in for all flights, strict monitoring of non-scheduled flight operations, enhanced security measures and surveillance at cargo terminals were issued," Mohol said.
Further, the minister said the government is considering amending the Aircraft (Security) Rules, 2023 to put hoax threat messenger in the no-fly list.
"It is also being considered to amend Suppression of Unlawful Acts against Safety of Civil Aviation for covering Aircraft in flight as well as on ground, airport etc," he added.
