India beat New Zealand to qualify for Women''s World Cup semifinals
Navi Mumbai (PTI): India qualified for the semifinals of the Women's World Cup after scintillating hundreds by Smriti Mandhana and Pratika Rawal set up a commanding 53-run win over New Zealand via DLS Method here on Thursday.
Asked to bat first, India posted an imposing 340 for three after the contest was reduced to 49 overs per side following a rain interruption just before the first innings was coming to an end.
After another interruption, the target was revised to 325 in 44 overs as per the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern (DLS) method, and New Zealand were stopped at 271 for eight in the allotted overs.
Brooke Halliday top-scored for New Zealand with 81 off 84 balls, while Isabella Gaze made a 51-ball 65.
Earlier, Jemimah Rodrigues blazed away to an unbeaten 55-ball 76 after the duo of Mandhana and Pratika added 212 runs at a brisk rate to lay a solid foundation for their team, which came into this game following three defeats on the trot, and was under pressure.
Mandhana slammed 109 in 95 balls, while Pratika scored 122 in 134 deliveries. This is India's highest total in World Cups.
The win over the White Ferns lifted India to six points from three victories as the tournament co-hosts joined defending champions Australia, England and South Africa in the last four.
Brief scores:
India: 340/3 in 49 overs (Smriti Mandhana 109, Pratika Rawal 122, Jemimah Rodrigues 76).
New Zealand: 271/8 in 44 overs (Brooke Halliday 81, Isabella Gaze 65 not out; Renuka Singh Thakur 2/25).
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Congress cites Maniben Patel's diary entries, asks Rajnath to apologise for Babri claim
New Delhi (PTI): The Congress on Saturday shared diary entries of Vallabhbhai Patel's daughter from a book to rebut Defence Minister Rajnath Singh's claim that India's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, wanted to build the Babri masjid using public funds, and demanded that Singh apologise for spreading "falsehoods".
Congress general secretary in charge of communications, Jairam Ramesh, claimed the defence minister was spreading falsehoods to “improve his relationship” with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“Here is Maniben's original diary entry in Gujarati on pages 212-213 in the book ‘Samarpit Padchhayo Sardarno’ by CA R S Patel 'Aaresh', published by Sardar Patel Vallabhbhai Patel Memorial Society, 2025,” Ramesh said on X, sharing screenshots of the relevant pages from the book.
“There is a huge difference between what is contained in the original diary entry and what Rajnath Singh ji and his fellow ‘distorians’ are propagating,” Ramesh said.
“The Defence Minister must apologise for the falsehoods he is spreading, simply to improve his relationship with the PM,” he claimed.
The Congress had earlier termed Singh's claim that Nehru wanted to build the Babri masjid using public funds a “lie” and “WhatsApp university story”, and said the defence minister should not walk in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's path.
Addressing a gathering at Sadhli village in Gujarat's Vadodara district last Tuesday, Singh said Nehru wanted to build the Babri masjid using public funds, but Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel didn't allow his plans to succeed.
The BJP had cited a book by Vallabhbhai Patel's daughter to double down on Singh's claims, and said the first prime minister also said he felt "repelled" by some of the temples in south India despite their beauty.
“The source of what Rajnath Singh said is the 'Inside Story of Sardar Patel, Diary of Maniben Patel'," BJP Rajya Sabha MP and national spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi had said at a press conference at the party headquarters while responding to media queries on the issue.
Trivedi claimed that on Page 24 of the book, it is written that Nehru also raised the question of the Babri mosque, but Sardar Patel made it clear that the government could not spend any money on building a mosque.
