Gulbadin, lower-order batters lift Afghanistan to 172 all out
Indore, Jan 14: Gulbadin Naib top-scored with a breezy 35-ball 57 before a flurry of fours and sixes by the lower-order batters propelled Afghanistan to 172 all out against India in the second T20I here on Sunday.
Mujeeb Ur Rahman (21 off 9 balls) and Karim Janat (20 off 10) chipped in with useful contributions to prop up the innings.
Asked to bat first, Afghanistan opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz signalled his intent straightaway and flicked Arshdeep Singh (3/32 in 4 overs) for a four through square leg and then tried to hit one straight down the ground, which however did not result in a boundary.
While Arshdeep started the proceedings with two wides on either side of the wicket, Mukesh Kumar was welcomed with a six over the bowler's head by Gurbaz, before his opening partner Ibrahim Zadran, having got a review for lbw in his favour, got into the act by lofting one over cover for a boundary.
Trailing 0-1 in the three-match series, Afghanistan raced to 20 for no loss in no time, forcing Rohit Sharma to introduce spin in the form of Ravi Bishnoi (2/39 in 4 overs).
Leg-spinner Bishnoi, who has a penchant for picking a wicket in his first over, did an encore as he lured Gurbaz to offer a catch to Shivam Dube at mid-on, having failed to get elevation.
Taking a cue from Gurbaz's approach, one-down batter Gulbadin Naib started to play his shots from the get-go, pulling Mukesh through mid-wicket and then driving him through for successive fours.
Fresh from a wicket in his very first over, Bishnoi found himself at the receiving end of Gulbadin's onslaught as the batter pulled a short ball over deep mid-wicket for a maximum before hitting back-to-back fours in an 18-run over at the Holkar Stadium.
There was another bowling change and it paid dividends as left-arm spinner Axar Patel bowled visiting captain Ibrahim Zadran with a beautiful flighted delivery that turned just enough to beat the batter and hit the stumps.
Azmatullah Omarzai did not last long as Dube hit the stumps after the batter went for a cross-batted pull shot and missed.
Axar bowled an economical eighth over before Gulbadin carted a Dube slower ball into the stands over deep mid-wicket and followed that by launching a half tracker towards the long-on region for another maximum.
Promoted to number three, Gulbadin brought up his fifty in 28 balls. There was no respite for Washington Sundar either, as Gulbadin swept the off-spinner for a big six over deep mid-wicket.
India's best bowler on the day by some distance, Axar (2/17 in 4 overs) provided the crucial breakthrough when he had Gulbadin caught at mid-wicket by Rohit, having bowled one slightly slower than his usual deliveries.
Afghanistan's innings lost momentum after Gulbadin's departure even as Bishnoi dismissed Mohammad Nabi.
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Delhi CM Rekha Gupta accuses Mamata Banerjee of stalling SIR; TMC hits back
Kolkata (PTI): Alleging that her West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee had approached the Supreme Court to stall the SIR exercise to prevent the identification of infiltrators, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Sunday claimed that the people of the state have made up their minds to dislodge the Trinamool Congress from power.
The TMC countered strongly, urging Gupta to "look into her own backyard" and accused her of making absurd allegations against the TMC government without checking facts.
Addressing participants at the 'Nari Sankalp Yatra' organised by the BJP's women's wing at Science City auditorium here, Gupta alleged that the "hands-off" and appeasement policies of the TMC government had allowed thousands of infiltrators to enter the state in recent years.
She claimed that this had put a strain on basic rights such as access to water, electricity, ration, education, livelihood and the right to vote for genuine citizens.
"She wants to perpetuate this and hence is trying to stall the SIR exercise, which aims at identifying and deporting infiltrators. Imagine a chief minister going to the apex court to argue against an exercise meant to ensure free and fair polls," Gupta said.
The BJP leader alleged that appeasement politics had reached an "alarming level" under the TMC regime.
Raising concerns over women's safety, she claimed that women in the state were not secure despite having a woman chief minister.
Referring to the rape-murder of a woman doctor at RG Kar Hospital, Gupta alleged that the state government had failed to respond adequately to such crimes.
She also referred to the alleged rape of a woman medic in Durgapur and another law student on a Kolkata college campus, claiming that criminals had been emboldened to commit brutalities against women.
She alleged that in crimes against women, overall crime incidents and child marriages, West Bengal remained among the top -- "a slur on a state which once led intellectual and social movements and set examples for the rest of the country," she said.
Criticising the state government's welfare initiatives, she said schemes such as Kanyashree were built on "false claims" and asserted that women needed security rather than assurances.
Accusing the state government of blocking central schemes, Gupta alleged that funds worth "lakhs of crores of rupees" had not reached the poor due to non-implementation of programmes such as Ayushman Bharat, PM Awas Yojana and Jal Jeevan Mission by the state.
"You are only interested in renaming projects and taking credit," she said.
Gupta also alleged that the education sector in the state had been adversely affected, saying several state-run schools had closed due to a shortage of teachers and that the government was opposed to the National Education Policy.
Drawing a comparison with BJP-ruled Delhi, Gupta said, "People have already voted out 'Bhaia' (a reference to former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal). Now it is your turn to bid farewell to 'Didi'." Calling upon women to resist what she termed "strong-arm tactics", she urged them to assert their strength, invoking the imagery of Goddess Durga.
"Bengal has the right to live with dignity, and women have the right to live with dignity," she added.
Reacting to Gupta's allegations, West Bengal Women and Child Welfare minister Shashi Panja accused her of making "absurd allegations" against the Trinamool Congress government ahead of elections.
Panja alleged that during Gupta's tenure in Delhi, several incidents had raised serious concerns, including reports of missing young women and a blast near the Red Fort.
She also criticised the air pollution situation in the national capital, claiming that people were struggling to breathe.
The TMC leader said that despite being in power for a year, Gupta was making "tall claims" instead of addressing key issues in Delhi.
Panja further alleged that the Delhi CM visited West Bengal during elections to "peddle false allegations" against the state government.
Rebutting Gupta, the TMC said in a post on X said, "Madam why did you go off-script again? For your edification, here are the cold, hard facts: In total cases of crimes (IPC + SLL), Bengal ranks a respectable 15th, far safer than BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Gujarat, which languish near the bottom."
"In overall crime rate, Bengal sits comfortably at 28th. Who's second? Your own Delhi. Double Engine Gujarat and Haryana grab 4th and 5th as top-tier crime havens," the TMC said.
"In child marriage, Assam again takes the shameful pole position. And yet you dare lecture Bengal? Stop embarrassing yourself, stop the hypocrisy, and maybe fix the rotting mess in your own backyard before pointing fingers at a state that's outperforming your disasters on every key metric," the TMC countered.
