Lanning, Radha Yadav fashion DC's easy 25-run win over GG in WPL
Bengaluru, Mar 3: Captain Meg Lanning's fifty and a cunning spell of left-arm spin by Jess Jonassen drove Delhi Capitals to a slick 25-run victory over Gujarat Giants in their Women's Premier League match here on Sunday.
Lanning (55, 41b, 6x4, 1x6) was Capitals' guiding force to an adequate 163 for eight despite a late flurry of wickets.
The Giants' chase never grew wings, ending up with 138 for eight despite Ashleigh Gardner's well-timed 40 off 31 balls as they crashed to their fourth defeat on the bounce.
Jonassen led Capitals' bowling with a shrewd spell (3/22) and she received very good support from Radha Yadav (3/20). The win also propelled Delhi to the top of the table with six points.
The Gujarat side made a shaky start, conceding a maiden in the very first over to WPL debutant pacer Titas Sadhu.
Their beginning was further marred when experienced pacer Shikha Pandey castled Laura Wolvaardt with a delivery that shaped in that tiny bit to beat her swat.
But the Giants too found some flow as captain Beth Mooney and Phoebe Litchfield combined to smash 15 runs in the fourth over bowled by Pandey.
However, it was just an isolated spark as the Giants stumbled against Jonassen. In the fifth over, the Australian spinner jettisoned Mooney and Litchfield in the space of four balls to reduce Giants to 34 for three.
Gardner displayed her power while hammering pacer Annabel Sutherland for two fours and a six in the 12th over to make a total of 16 runs.
It might have given a tinge of hope to the Giants but Jonassen snuffed that out when she had Gardner stumped by Taniya Bhatia.
Before that Yadav bagged the crucial wickets of Veda Krishnamoorthy and Kathryn Bryce as Gujarat struggled to stitch together any meaningful partnership.
Earlier, Lanning used her experience to pace her innings well and build a couple of good partnerships after Giants opted to field first.
Shafali Verma (13, 9b), as usual, flew off the traps with a six and four off left-arm spinner Tanuja Kanwar but her cameo came to an end very soon.
Verma's uppish flick of pacer Meghana Singh, the most successful Gujarat bowler with a four-wicket haul, went straight to Wolvaardt near backward square leg.
The dismissal brought Lanning, who was dropped on 30, and in-form Alice Capsey together. They scored 38 runs for the second wicket, helping Delhi to reach 51 for 1 in the Power Play segment.
Once Capsey departed, an edgy Jemimah Rodrigues (7 off 10) helped Lanning add 47 runs for the third wicket. Lanning shed her low-gear approach during this passage to pull some top shots out of the draw such as a massive hit for six over long-off off Kathryn Bryce.
Lanning reached her fifty in 39 balls but could not stay in the middle for long as her slash off Meghana settled in the hands of D Hemalatha at cover point.
The return of Lanning to the dug-out dashed Delhi's attempt to up the scoring rate as they lost wickets at regular intervals and also failed to fetch a boundary for 24 balls between 15.2 and 19.3 overs.
But by then they had put enough runs on the board.
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Ram Temple built due to commitment of those in power; India already a Hindu Rashtra: Bhagwat
Nagpur (PTI): The Ram Temple in Ayodhya was built due to the commitment of those in power and the support of everyone in the country, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat has said, emphasising that there is no need to declare India a Hindu Rashtra as it already is.
He was addressing a programme on Monday to felicitate individuals under whose leadership and guidance the Ram temple was constructed. The programme was organised by Dr Hedgewar Smarak Samiti in Reshimbagh here, according to a release issued by RSS.
Bhagwat said the temple was built by Lord Ram’s own will. Comparing it to the lifting of Govardhan (the mountain by Lord Krishna), he said such a feat does not happen unless everyone contributes.
"It rests on the Lord’s fingertip, but that fingertip does not move until people contribute their wood. The temple was built in the same way," he said.
Bhagwat further said that for the resurgence of Sanatan Dharma, the resurgence of Bharat is essential—an idea expressed 150 years ago by Yogi Aurobindo. As each contribution is made, he said, divine power continues to guide the fulfilment of this resolve.
The process of resurgence began in 1857, he pointed out.
Referring to the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Bhagwat said that when the new government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi took oath, The Guardian in London published an article stating, "On this day, Indians have finally said goodbye to the British."
"Technically, we said goodbye on August 15, 1947, but we were not fully certain," he added.
Bhagwat questioned whether the Ram Temple would have been built without committed leadership.
If those in power were not committed, would the temple have been built? he asked.
"Bharat must rise. But what is Bharat? What kind of resurgence? What is Bharat-India? We were lost in this dilemma, and time was also lost.
"But our country chose a path. If there hadn't been such a massive movement (Ramjanmabhoomi Andolan), would the temple have been built? The movement happened on such a scale. But if those in power weren't committed to building the Ram temple, would it have been built?" he asked.
The RSS chief reiterated that the temple was built with the support of every individual in the country.
"The decision to build the temple was made, but without a strong foundation, how would it stand? Every person in Bharatvarsh contributed. Then Lord Ram’s fingertip performed its miracle, and this process will continue," he said.
Bhagwat also noted that the idea of Hindustan as a Hindu Rashtra was once mocked.
"Hindustan is a Hindu Rashtra. Until the Ram Temple was built, people laughed at this claim. Today, the same people say Hindustan is the land of Hindus," he said.
Many people ask the RSS to declare India a Hindu Rashtra, "but we say there is no need to declare what's already true, Bhagwat stressed.
"The Sun rises in the east—do we need to declare it? Similarly, Bharat is a Hindu Rashtra; it is already a reality, and everyone accepts it. But back then? Everyone mocked it. Those early inexperienced workers had faith in their hearts, belief in (RSS founder) Dr Hedgewar's words, so despite all this, they kept working," he said.
Bhagwat said the felicitation event was a way to express gratitude to all those who contributed to building the temple.
"They have done their work; now we must do ours. They were given the specific task of building the temple, and they excelled beyond expectations, making it more grand and beautiful than imagined, and it will be even more beautiful," he added.
Future plans are underway, Bhagwat said and called on people to contribute towards making the nation stronger and more prosperous.
"We must work to make it greater, more grand, and more beautiful than imagined, so that Dharma is established in the world,” he said.
He said the world's need can only be fulfilled by Bharat, and Bharat's resurgence will be done by Bharat's children, and that no other country will save Bharat.
"Bharat will rise great and save the whole world. This is written fate. If we contribute to fulfilling it, it will happen sooner, with minimal loss," he added.
