Day/Night Test: Bangladesh win toss, elect to bat
Kolkata: Bangladesh captain Mominul Haque won the toss and elected to bat against India in their maiden Day/Night Test here on Friday.
The Virat Kohli-led India have not made any change to the side that won the opening Test in Indore. Bangladesh made two changes to their line-up with Al-Amin Hossain and Naeem Hasan coming in to replace Taijul Islam, Mehidy Hasan.
The two teams are playing with the pink ball for the first time and fans have responded enthusiastically. The first four days of the game are sold out.
A silver coin, brought out specially for the game, was used for toss.
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina along with Bangladesh Cricket Board Chairman Nazmul Hasan and some of India's biggest cricket icons such as Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar are in attendance at the historic match.
"We want people coming back to the game," said BCCI President Sourav Ganguly, who made the match possible by convincing the Bangladesh Cricket Board to agree.
This is just the 12th Day/Night game.
Also present at the Eden Gardens on Friday are a host of Indian sporting stars such as Olympic gold-medallist shooter Abhinav Bindra, six-time world champion boxer M C Mary Kom, and Grand Slam-winning tennis star Sania Mirza.
The Teams:
India: Mayank Agarwal, Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli(c), Ajinkya Rahane, Ravindra Jadeja, Wriddhiman Saha(w), Umesh Yadav, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma
Bangladesh: Shadman Islam, Imrul Kayes, Mominul Haque(c), Mohammad Mithun, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah, Liton Das(w), Nayeem Hasan, Abu Jayed, Al-Amin Hossain, Ebadat Hossain.
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EAM Jaishankar meets Jamaican PM, gifts over 10 BHISHM Cubes
Kingston (PTI): External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday met Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness and discussed ways to further deepen "political, economic and people-to-people cooperation."
Jaishankar also conveyed greetings from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Holness.
"Pleased to call on Prime Minister @AndrewHolnessJM in Kingston. Conveyed the greetings of PM @narendramodi," Jaishankar posted on X.
"Discussed deepening our political, economic and people-to-people cooperation. Value his commitment towards further strengthening India-Jamaica relations," the post further read.
Also, the external affairs minister handed over 10 BHISHM (Bharat Health Initiative for Sahyog Hita & Maitri) Cubes as a gift to Jamaica.
"Formally handed over 10 BHISHM Cubes as a gift from India to Jamaica, in the presence of PM @AndrewHolnessJM, Health Minister @christufton and FM @kaminajsmith," Jaishankar posted on X.
"The BHISHM Cube mobile hospital system, designed for rapid deployment, will help Jamaica during disasters and emergencies. The gift of these cubes is a statement of friendship, a commitment to disaster preparedness, and an outcome of innovation," the post said.
Jaishankar arrived in Kingston on Saturday evening, marking the first leg of his nine-day tour of Jamaica, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago, aimed at further strengthening India's strategic and cultural ties with the Caribbean nations.
Earlier in the day, he interacted with the Indian diaspora and discussed India's ongoing transformation in infrastructure, human development and technology-driven governance and entrepreneurship with them.
He also highlighted the cricket bond between both countries as India gifted a scoreboard to Jamaica.
A scoreboard was dedicated at Sabina Park in Kingston. It is the home of the Jamaica cricket team and is the only Test cricket ground in the Caribbean island nation.
The minister expressed hope that the new scoreboard would witness many memorable innings, including those symbolising the enduring friendship between the two countries.
Cricket has long been a strong cultural bridge between India and Jamaica, which is part of the West Indies cricket team.
Jamaican players, including Chris Gayle, Courtney Walsh and Michael Holding, have played a major role in shaping the legacy of West Indies cricket in the international arena, contributing to its dominance in earlier decades and its continued global appeal.
