India struggle to 188 all out despite Mithali's unbeaten 79
Lucknow: Mithali Raj played a captain's knock by hitting a well-crafted 79 not out as India struggled to 188 all out against South Africa in the fifth and final women's ODI here on Wednesday.
Put into bat, Mithali steered India's innings after India lost three early wickets with the scoreboard reading 53 in the 13th over.
Together with Harmanpreet Kaur (30), who retired hurt following cramps, Mithali shared 71 runs for the fourth wicket before the former left the ground in the 31st over.
India lost opener Priya Punia (18) early before India's star batswoman of the series Punam Raut (10) and Smriti Mandhana (18) departed in successive overs.
Dayalan Hemalatha (2) and Sushma Verma (0) failed to provide the much-needed support to Mithali as the veteran Indian batter brought up her second fifty of the series and 55th overall in 78 balls in the 38th over.
Jhulan Goswami (5) and Monica Patel (9) too didn't trouble the scorers much as Mithali kept India's innings going single-handedly.
Debutant Challuru Prathyusha (2) also failed to make a mark as India slumped to 176 for eight by the end of the 47th over. Mithali was left stranded at one hand as India kept on wickets at regular intervals and were bowled out in 49.3 overs.
Mithali's unbeaten 104-ball knock was studded with eight boundaries and one hit over the fence.
Medium pacer Nadine de Klerk was the pick of the bowlers for South Africa with figures of three for 35.
Off-spinner Nondumiso Shangase (2/43), Marizanne Kapp (1/25) and Tumi Sekhukhune (2/26) also chipped in with useful contributions to restrict the Indians under the 200-run mark.
South Africa had already pocketed the five-match series with victory in the fourth ODI.
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DU college asks students, staff to follow VC's X account, share posts
New Delhi (PTI): Delhi University's Shaheed Bhagat Singh College has asked its students and staff members to follow the official X account of Vice Chancellor Yogesh Singh and actively share his posts expressing solidarity with the Indian Armed Forces.
In an official notice dated May 12 and signed by Principal Arun Kumar Attree, the Shaheed Bhagat Singh College administration said, "All teachers, staff members, and students of the college are hereby requested to follow the Vice Chancellor Prof. Yogesh Singh's official Twitter (now X) account."
The college community is "encouraged to retweet the posts shared through the platform" as a gesture of support and gratitude towards the country's defence forces, it said.
"By amplifying these messages, we not only raise awareness about their courage and sacrifices but also contribute to building a strong sense of national pride and unity within our community," it stated.
Singh created his X account earlier this month and made his first post on May 8. In a post on May 12, he referred to Operation Sindoor, carried out by India in response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack.
In his post in Hindi, Singh claimed that Indian forces "destroyed Pakistani terrorist bases and neutralised more than 100 terrorists, including the hijackers of IC814 and the Pulwama terrorists".
The government and armed forces "do more and say less, keeping national interest paramount", he said.
The post concluded with lines from the Hindi poem "Parshuram Ki Pratiksha" by Ramdhari Singh Dinkar, calling for unity and support for the armed forces and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
