SANO (JAPAN): Seven months after they made their international debut at the Asian Games, Mongolia capped an ignominious milestone when they were bowled out for 12, the second lowest score in T20 International history in a match against hosts Japan here on Wednesday.

In response to Japan's imposing 217 for 7 after the hosts elected to bat, Mongolia were folded in 8.2 overs, etching their name in the annals of infamy with the second lowest score in T20I history after Isle of Man's 10 all out against Spain in on February 26, 2023.

For Japan, 17-year-old left-arm seamer Kazuma Kato-Stafford returned with 5 for 7 from his 3.2 overs, while Abdul Samad (2/4) and Makoto Taniyama (2/0) bagged two each in the match held at the Sano International Cricket Ground.

Tur Sumaya (4 off 11) was the top-scorer for Mongolia, while opener Namsrai Bat-yalalt faced a maximum 12 deliveries. This was the second T20I of a seven-match series, while the third one, slated later in the day, did not yield any result.

In the first T20I, Mongolia were bowled out for 33 in reply to Japan’s 199 for 5, enduring a 166-run defeat.

This was Mongolia’s fifth T20I appearance, having made international debut at the Hangzhou showpiece where they made a group stage exit after losing both their matches.

In their first-ever international match, they were subjected to a massive total of 314/3 by Nepal, ultimately losing by 273 runs after being dismissed for 41.

Mongolia had also lost to Maldives by nine wickets in the second match after posting 60 for 9.

According to the ICC, one Battulga Gombo was the ‘man behind cricket’ in the country.

“In 2014 he convinced the municipal park authorities to grant rights to develop an area of wasteland into a cricket ground, and in 2015, with his friend Chris Hurd, he launched the Mongolian Cricket Seed Appeal,” according to the ICC.

Since then the schools’ programme has grown, six provinces outside Ulaanbaatar are now playing the game, and indoor and outdoor tournaments are consistently being held throughout the year, it added.

Brief Scores:

Japan 217 for 7 in 20 overs (Sabaorish Ravichandran 69; Zoljavkhlan Shurentsetseg 3/32, Luvsanzundui Erdenebulgan 2/61).

Mongolia 12 all out in 8.2 overs (Kazuma Kato-Stafford 5/7, Abdul Samad 2/4, Makoto Taniyama 2/0) by 205 runs.

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Lucknow/Pratapgarh (UP) (PTI): Police have apprehended a 16-year-old boy for his alleged involvement in the rape and murder of a 19-year-old woman whose body was found hanging from a tree in a village here, officials said on Monday.

Additional Superintendent of Police (West), Brijnandan Rai, said that the body of a 19-year-old woman was found hanging from a tree in an orchard in the Manikpur police station area on Sunday morning. A post-mortem examination subsequently confirmed that she had been raped.

Police registered a case against unidentified persons under sections 103(1) (punishment for murder) and 70(1) (gangrape) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, and initiated an investigation.

During the course of the investigation, the police found that the deceased was in contact with a juvenile who was also her relative.

Acting on this information, during a joint checking operation, sub-inspector Amit Kumar Singh of Manikpur police station and SOG In-charge Amit Kumar Chaurasia, along with their team, apprehended the 16-year-old near the Lehdari Ganga River bridge.

The search for other accused persons is ongoing, police said.

According to the police, the woman had gone to sleep after dinner on Saturday night but was found hanging in an orchard nearly 400 metres away from her home the following morning.

Additional Superintendent of Police (West), Brijnandan Rai, had earlier said that the circumstances suggest foul play.

"The victim's slippers and undergarments were recovered 50 metres away from the spot where the body was found. There are visible injury marks on her body," Rai said.

While locals have alleged that the woman was murdered after being raped, the ASP said that it is "prima facie a case of murder."

"Based on the complaint filed by the victim's brother, a case of murder has been registered against unidentified persons," the officer added.

Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, in a post on X in Hindi on Monday, said, "The news of the heinous murder of a Dalit daughter in Pratapgarh is deeply tragic and condemnable."

"The question remains: why does the spate of murders of 'PDA daughters' continue unabated in Uttar Pradesh? Are the BJP government's claims regarding women's safety merely hollow rhetoric, or is there, in fact, discrimination even in the provision of security for women?" he said.

"Whenever the 'wandering Honourable (ghumantu maananiye)' finds a moment of respite from election campaigning, he should cast a glance at the plight of the daughters of his own Uttar Pradesh. In any case, apart from injustice and oppression, no sister, daughter, or mother of this state holds any hope from you," Yadav added.