England beats New Zealand in Super Over to win T20 series
Auckland: England beat New Zealand in a thrilling Super Over finish to their rain-reduced Twenty20 cricket international Sunday, clinching a 3-2 win in the five-match series.
The teams were tied when England replied with 146-7 to New Zealand's 146-5 in a match shortened by heavy rain to 11 overs per side.
Jonny Bairstow and captain Eion Morgan took 17 runs from England's Super Over, bowled by New Zealand captain Tim Southee, before Martin Guptill, Tim Seifert and Colin de Grandhomme managed only eight from New Zealand's single over.
The match was reminiscent of the World Cup final between the teams in June when England won on a count back of boundaries after being tied at the end of 50 overs and again after the one-over eliminator.
This time England's performance in the tiebreaker was decisive.
Bairstow and Morgan both hit sixes to set New Zealand a chase for 18 runs, a total which was challenging even on the postage stamp boundaries of Eden Park.
New Zealand made the unusual decision to nominate wicketkeeper Tim Seifert to take the first ball of its Super Over, bowled by Chris Jordan. Seifert took two, left a wide, hit four and had a dot ball before falling to a brilliant catch by Morgan.
With New Zealand needing 10 runs from the last two balls Guptill could only manage a single from the first ball he faced and the match was over.
Bairstow was Man of the Match for his 47 from 18 balls which helped England match New Zealand's formidable 11-over total and for his contribution in the Super Over.
"New Zealand's total was pretty imposing," Bairstow said.
"To try to chase down 150 was tough but a lot of the guys played in the T10 last year and said we're not far off here. If we can get within striking distance and with the short boundaries we've got a chance."
Bairstow said the close finishes in recent matches against New Zealand had been nerve-wracking.
"We don't want to keep this happening, I don't think anyone wants to keep that going," he said. "But it just shows how close the sides are and how close they've been throughout the series."
After England won a rain-delayed toss and sent New Zealand into bat, Martin Guptill blasted 50 from 20 balls to launch the home side towards a competitive total. New Zealand was 37-0 after only two overs and reached 100 in only 7.3 overs.
England, in contrast, made a poor beginning, losing Tom Banton and James Vince within the first seven balls. Bairstow's innings put it back in the match and England came into the last over needing 16 runs to win.
Jordan struck a crucial six from the bowling of Jimmy Neesham, then hit a four from the last ball to tie the scores and send the match into the one-over eliminator.
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Killing of Khamenei cynical violation of human morality, international law: Putin
Moscow (PTI): The killing of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was a cynical violation of all norms of human morality and international law, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared in his message to his Tehranian counterpart, the Kremlin said Sunday.
Khamenei was killed in an airstrike in Tehran on Saturday during a joint Israel-US attack on Iran.
“Please accept my deepest condolences in connection with the assassination of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Seyyed Ali Khamenei, and members of his family, committed in a cynical violation of all norms of human morality and international law,” Putin said in his condolence message.
Putin's condolence message to Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian was published on the Kremlin portal.
Earlier on Saturday, Russia condemned the US-Israeli joint strikes on Iran qualifying it as an “unprovoked” aggression against a sovereign state in violation of international law and called for immediate return to diplomacy.
The Russian Foreign Ministry also described the US and Israeli forces' strikes against the Iranian territory as “a pre-planned” act of aggression against an independent UN member state.
Putin also conducted an emergency meeting of the National Security Council online on Saturday to discuss the emerging situation following the US-Israeli strikes and Iran’s retaliation.
Meanwhile, according to reports more than 2,00,000 Russians are stuck in the region due to closure of their airspaces by Iran and Gulf countries.
The situation in the Middle East and the airport closures have affected not only organised tourists from Russia registered with tour operators, but also those travelling on business trips and independently, state-run TASS news agency reported.
“Approximately 2,00,000 people are unable to leave the UAE or return from vacations in the Maldives and other countries,” Alexey Volkov, president of the National Union of Hospitality Industry, told TASS.
UAE and its airports have become a main hub of access to Russia since the Ukraine conflict and closure of EU air space for civilian air traffic under sanction on Moscow.
“The situation remains complex and unpredictable: drone and missile strikes have hit key tourist locations in the UAE, including its most famous hotels.
“And then there are those who aren't counted as tourists at all, but are travelling around the world for business—the Middle East, for example, is currently a major business hub, home to a significant amount of Russian capital, investment, and business,” Volkov said.
