India lose by 85 runs as Australia breeze to fifth ICC Women's T20 World Cup title
Melbourne: Defending champions Australia breezed to their record fifth ICC Women's T20 World Cup title, outclassing India by 85 runs in the summit clash at the MCG on Sunday.
Opting to bat, Australia rode on blistering half-centuries by openers Alyssa Healy (75) and Beth Mooney (78 not out) to post 184 for four before their bowlers, led by Megan Schutt (4/18) and Jess Jonassen (3/20), put up a disciplined effort to win their fifth title.
Chasing a challenging target, India, featuring in their maiden final of the tournament, couldn't handle the pressure and were bundled out for 99 in 19.1 overs.
India suffered a batting collapse as the top order of teen sensation Shafali Verma (2), Smriti Mandhana (11), Jemimah Rodrigues (0) and skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (4) departed inside the first six overs.
To add to India's woes, wicket-keeper Taniya Bhatia retired hurt in the second over after getting hit on her helmet of the bowling of left-arm spinner Jess Jonassen.
Deepti Sharma (33), Veda Krishnamurthy (19) and concussion substitute Richa Ghosh (14) tried to fight back but the Australian bowlers struck at regular intervals to choke India.
Brief Scores:
Australia: 184 for 4 in 20 overs (Beth Mooney 78 not out, Alyssa Healy 75; Deepti Sharma 2/38)
India: 99 all out in 19.1 overs (Deepti Sharma 33, Veda Krishnamurthy 19; Megan Schutt 3/18.)
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Maharashtra sets up state vaccination task force to strengthen immunisation programme
Mumbai (PTI): The Maharashtra government has set up a State Vaccination Task Force to strengthen the regular immunisation programme and review the progress of related campaigns, a health department official said on Monday.
The State Vaccination Task Force will comprise at least 29 members and will be headed by the administrative head of the health department, he informed.
The government has also constituted separate district-level and municipal vaccination task forces to improve implementation and address challenges at the grassroots level, he said.
Municipal task forces, chaired by respective civic commissioners, have been constituted in view of the vast urban population in Maharashtra and the role of civic bodies in implementing different health programmes.
The district-level task forces will function under the chairmanship of collectors.
"Complete immunisation of children at the appropriate age is an extremely simple, cost-effective and highly effective measure to reduce child mortality and the prevalence of diseases among kids. Immunisation is a powerful tool for reducing illness in children," maintained the official.
To ensure full vaccination of all children, the state government implements various campaigns from time to time as per the central government guidelines, he pointed out.
"Active participation and cooperation of other relevant government departments are essential (in making these campaigns successful)," according to the official.
The state-level body will review the regular immunisation programme, associated campaigns and vaccine-preventable diseases in detail. It will also conduct focused assessments of high-risk districts and municipal corporations, including vacancies at district, municipal and sub-district levels, availability of cold chain equipment, resource gaps and training requirements, he noted.
The state task force will review allocation and utilisation of funds for immunisation and ensure timely action by officers concerned based on reports from district and municipal task forces and state-level monitoring mechanisms, the official said.
It will also ensure active coordination and participation of other government departments in immunisation drives, while district and municipal task forces will carry out similar functions at their respective levels, the official added.
