Kohli, Dhoni push India to 190/4
Bengaluru, Feb 27: Skipper Virat Kohli and veteran Mahendra Singh Dhoni delighted the Chinnaswamy crowd with a 100-run stand off 50 balls, propelling India to 190 for four in the second and final T20 against Australia here Wednesday.
Kohli led from the front in the must-win tie, hammering an unbeaten 72 off 38 balls in a knock that included half a dozen sixes, while Dhoni played the supporting role well with 40 off 23 balls.
It was a typical Dhoni innings that comprised three fours and as many sixes and came after a rather slow 29 off 37 balls in Vizag on Sunday night.
Opener K L Rahul was amongst runs again, scoring 47 off 26 in front of his home crowd.
Considering the pitch wore a greenish look, India brought in pace all-rounder Vijay Shankar in place of spinner Mayank Markande while fast bowler Umesh Yadav made way for Siddharth Kaul.
India made a third change by resting Rohit Sharma for Shikhar Dhawan to open the innings alongside Rahul. The southpaw was rested from the series opener.
With a series win at stake, Australia opted to field for the second game in row.
The home team got a move on in the third over of the innings bowled by left-arm pacer Jason Behrendorff.
Local hero Rahul slashed a short and wide ball between cover and point before Dhawan flicked one off pads for another four with the over going for 12 runs.
The fifth over was even more productive for India as pacer Jhye Richardson conceded 15 runs after Rahul dispatched him for consecutive sixes, a top edge that flew over over deep fine leg and a crisp drive that went all the way over cover.
The stylish Karnataka batsman, who recently went through a rough patch both on and off the field, was back in his elements.
Rahul meted out similar punishment to Pat Cummins in the following over, hitting him for back-to-back sixes.
His sublime strokeplay seemed effortless but it was no mean feat to pull a bowler of Cummins' pace over backward square leg a ball after he whipped the Australian for a six over deep midwicket. India reached 53 for no loss in six overs.
With Dhawan a mere spectator at the other end, a third hundred in T20 Internationals for Rahul was very much on the cards before he fell to a soft dismissal, trying to guide a slower one off Nathan Coulter-Nile over third man only to be caught by Richardson.
A struggling Dhawan too departed soon after, albeit to a questionable running catch in the deep from Marcus Stoinis after the on-field umpire referred the decision to the third umpire following his soft signal.
Rishabh Pant's early dismissal made it 74 for three in the 11th over as he mistimed one off chinaman D'Arcy Short and Richardson pulled off a sensational diving catch at long off.
Two quick dismissals brought two heavyweights -- Kohli and Dhoni -- in the middle. They enjoy batting together and that came to the fore as they completed a 50-run partnership off 29 balls.
Dhoni, who was criticised for his knock on Sunday, showed more intent from the word go as he began with a six over mid wicket off Short.
Kohli kept himself busy by rotating the strike early in his innings. He went ballistic in the 16th over that leaked 22 runs as he smashed Coulter-Nile for three sixes in a row before completing his 20th fifty in the shortest format.
Dhoni made big gains in Short's third over that went for 19 runs, including two sixes and a four. It was not the best of decisions from captain Aaron Finch to go with spin in the 18th over, especially with the destructive Dhoni at the crease.
Kohli finished the innings in style with a straight six over long-off.
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Canada is already examining tariffs on certain US items following Trump's tariff threat
Toronto (AP/PTI): Canada is already examining possible retaliatory tariffs on certain items from the United States should President-elect Donald Trump follow through on his threat to impose sweeping tariffs on Canadian products, a senior official has said.
Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on products from Canada and Mexico if the countries don't stop what he called the flow of drugs and migrants across southern and northern borders. He said he would impose a 25 per cent tax on all products entering the U.S. from Canada and Mexico as one of his first executive orders.
But Trump posted Wednesday evening on Truth Social that he had a "wonderful conversation" with new Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and she "agreed to stop Migration through Mexico".
"Mexico will stop people from going to our Southern Border, effective immediately. THIS WILL GO A LONG WAY TOWARD STOPPING THE ILLEGAL INVASION OF THE USA. Thank you!!!" Trump posted.
It was unclear what impact the conversation will have on Trump's plan to impose tariffs.
In Canada, a government official said on Wednesday that Canada is preparing for every eventuality and has started thinking about what items to target with tariffs in retaliation. The official stressed no decision has been made. The person spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to speak publicly.
When Trump imposed higher tariffs during his first term in office, other countries responded with retaliatory tariffs of their own. Canada, for instance, announced billions of new duties in 2018 against the US in a tit-for-tat response to new taxes on Canadian steel and aluminum.
Many of the US products were chosen for their political rather than economic impact. For example, Canada imports USD 3 million worth of yogurt from the US annually and most comes from one plant in Wisconsin, home state of then-House Speaker Paul Ryan. That product was hit with a 10 per cent duty.
Another product on the list was whiskey, which comes from Tennessee and Kentucky, the latter of which is the home state of then-Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell.
Trump made the threat Monday while railing against an influx of illegal migrants, even though the numbers at Canadian border pale in comparison to the southern border.
The US Border Patrol made 56,530 arrests at the Mexican border in October alone — and 23,721 arrests at the Canadian one between October 2023 and September 2024.
Canadian officials say lumping Canada in with Mexico is unfair but say they are ready to make new investments in border security and work with the Trump administration to lower the numbers from Canada. The Canadians are also worried about a influx north of migrants if Trump follows through with his plan for mass deportations.
Trump also railed about fentanyl from Mexico and Canada, even though seizures from the Canadian border pale in comparison to the Mexican border. US customs agents seized 43 pounds of fentanyl at the Canadian border last fiscal year, compared with 21,100 pounds at the Mexican border.
Canadian officials argue their country is not the problem and that tariffs will have severe implications for both countries.
Canada is the top export destination for 36 US states. Nearly USD 3.6 billion Canadian (USD 2.7 billion) worth of goods and services cross the border each day. About 60 per cent of US crude oil imports are from Canada, and 85 per cent of US electricity imports are from Canada. Canada is also the largest foreign supplier of steel, aluminum and uranium to the US and has 34 critical minerals and metals that the Pentagon is eager for and investing in for national security.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau held a emergency virtual meeting on Wednesday with the leaders of Canada's provinces. He stressed they need to present a united front.
"I don't want to minimize for a moment the gravity of the challenge we now face," Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said. "Now is really a moment for us not to squabble amongst ourselves."
The provincial premiers want Trudeau to negotiate a bilateral trade deal with the United States that excludes Mexico.
Sheinbaum, Mexico's president, said earlier Wednesday that her administration is already working up a list of possible retaliatory tariffs "if the situation comes to that."
She later said she talked to Trump and had "an excellent conversation".
