Desert Vipers win maiden ILT20 title after 46-run victory over MI Emirates
Dubai (PTI): Skipper Sam Curran smashed an unbeaten fifty to help Desert Vipers clinch their maiden ILT20 title with a 46-run victory over MI Emirates here.
The Desert Vipers took home a cash prize of USD 700,000 along with the Black Belt, while MI Emirates were awarded USD 300,000.
Curran smashed an unbeaten 74 off 51 balls, studded with eight fours and two sixes, to power his team to an unassailable 182/4. He was well supported by Max Holden (41 off 32) and Dan Lawrence’s (23 off 15) late charge.
Naseem Shah (3/18), Usman Tariq (2/20), and Khuzaima Tanveer (2/22) led the bowling effort before David Payne’s three-wicket haul (3/42) restricted MI Emirates to 136.
The Vipers' skipper Curran capped off an impressive tournament by finishing with both the Red Belt (Most Valuable Player) and the Green Belt (Best Batter).
Curran ended the season with 397 runs, including three half-centuries, and complemented his batting efforts with seven wickets and 10 catches.
In the second innings, Naseem set the tone early, removing Andre Fletcher (10 off 11) and Tom Banton (7 off 6). MI Emirates lost three wickets inside six overs and crawled to 46/3.
Usman Tariq turned up the heat by dismissing Sanjay Krishnamurthi (2 off 9) in the eighth over. Shakib Al Hasan (36 off 27) attempted to steady the innings with calculated strikes, but boundaries were hard to come by.
With Kieron Pollard struggling to break free, MI Emirates reached 72/4 after 10 overs, falling further behind in the chase.
After Naseem removed Pollard to end any late resistance, David Payne ripped through the lower order, bagging three wickets in the 18th over.
Khuzaima Tanveer sealed the title by clattering Muhammad Rohid’s stumps (3 off 4) as the Vipers closed out the match with nine balls to spare.
The White Belt (Best Bowler) was claimed by Dubai Capitals’ Waqar Salamkheil, who led the bowling charts with 18 wickets.
Meanwhile, MI Emirates’ Muhammad Waseem picked up the Blue Belt for Best UAE Player for the fourth straight campaign after scoring 370 runs across Season 4. The winners of the DP World ILT20 signature belts were awarded USD 15,000 each.
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Constitution amendment bill defeat was BJP’s first embarrassment in Parliament: Margaret Alva
Bengaluru (PTI): Senior Congress leader Margaret Alva on Monday said that the constitution amendment bill's defeat in the Lok Sabha on April 17 was the first embarrassment faced by the BJP-led government in Parliament.
She also alleged that the BJP has no real concern regarding women’s reservation.
The opposition INDIA bloc defeated the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill that sought to facilitate the implementation of women's reservation by expanding the strength of the Lok Sabha, apart from making changes to delimitation.
"This is the first embarrassment and defeat faced by the NDA government in the Lok Sabha," the former Governor of Gujarat and Rajasthan said in a press conference here.
According to her, the women’s reservation has been under discussion since the time of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi.
"During Rajiv Gandhi’s tenure, a 14-member committee was formed, and I was appointed as its chairperson. We prepared a report after studying what needed to be done to enhance the dignity of women across 12 sectors. This was submitted to the government in 1989,” Alva, 84-year-old veteran Congress leader, said.
She said political empowerment for women was emphasised in that report, without which, empowerment in any other sphere is not possible.
“Many people in Parliament used to question me — should we vacate seats for women and stay at home cooking? Why insist on this? Has anyone written these seats in your name? This debate has been ongoing since 1975,” Alva explained.
The Congress leader said Rajiv Gandhi had introduced 33 per cent reservation for women in local bodies.
“At that time, all opposition parties united and defeated the Bill,” she pointed out.
Again, during the tenure of former Prime Minister late P V Narasimha Rao, the 33 per cent reservation Bill in local bodies was passed.
“It was the Congress party that first introduced women’s reservation. Now they are falsely accusing us of being anti-women,” Alva charged.
In 2023, the Women’s Reservation Bill was passed with much fanfare, but it was not immediately implemented.
According to her, a condition was imposed for its implementation that it would be enforced based on census data.
"Once it is in the statute book, what is preventing its implementation? Two years for the census and another two years for delimitation — this means it cannot be implemented by 2029. It was not given in 2024, and there is no possibility even in 2029," Alva charged the BJP-led government at the Centre.
The Congress leader said the BJP is saying that the Bill can be implemented based on the 2011 Census, but when the same suggestion was made in 2023, the BJP rejected it.
On increasing the Lok Sabha seats by 50 per cent, she sought to know the basis for it.
“Where did this (idea) come from? Whose advice was taken? Was it decided by the RSS? Or ordered by a court?” Alva asked.
The former union minister said the Constitution amendment bill, which was defeated on April 17 appears to favour certain North Indian states.
“We pay taxes, but they receive greater benefits and allocations. If seats are increased by 50 per cent based on their calculations, we would get only 14 additional seats, while they would get 40. How is this fair?” she questioned.
While 298 members voted in support of the bill in Lok Sabha, 230 MPs voted against it. Out of 528 members who voted, the bill required 352 votes for a two-third majority.
According to the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, Lok Sabha seats were to be increased to "operationalise" the women's reservation act before the 2029 parliamentary polls, following a delimitation exercise based on the 2011 Census.
Seats were also to be increased in state and Union territory Assemblies to accommodate 33 per cent reservation for women.
