India restrict South Africa to 187/7 despite fine knocks from Miller and Brevis
Ahmedabad (PTI): David Miller rolled back the years with exhilarating strokes but Jasprit Bumrah's superb initial and end act restricted South Africa to a par score of 187 for seven in the Super Eights game of the T20 World Cup here on Sunday.
Miller, standing on the cusp of 37, struck 63 off 35 balls and got fine support from young Dewald Brevis (45 off 29 balls) after Bumrah (3/15 in 4 overs) and Arshdeep Singh (2/28 in 4 overs) had reduced the Proteas to 20 for 3 inside the first four overs.
Bumrah, who got two wickets in his first two overs for just seven runs, took one more wicket giving away just 8 more runs across the 17th and 19th over that he sent down.
In all he bowled 12 dot balls, amounting to two maiden overs.
The Proteas did find themselves down in the dumps but veteran Miller and young Brevis launched a counter-attack that was both swift and brutal.
They added 97 in just 8.2 overs and the hallmark of their batting was the technique against spinner Varun Chakravarthy (1/47 in 4 overs), who was made to look pedestrian on the day.
Between the duo, they clobbered half a dozen of maximums (three apiece) but just when the black-soil strip at the Motera started helping the stroke players, the duo got out.
It was Tristan Stubbs (44 not out off 24 balls), who took South Africa past the 185-run mark with a couple of huge sixes off the final two deliveries of the innings bowled by Hardik Pandya.
With dew setting in, a total above 200 would have made the Proteas feel more confident.
The Miller-Brevis Stand
===================
Both Miller and Brevis hit a six each off Chakravarthy within a space of few deliveries in the same over.
The manner both played Chakravarthy was laudable. They read him from the hand, held their shape and with a slight back-foot trigger generated that extra split second, getting power and elevation.
However, out of Miller's sixes, one that stood out was a flat-batted thump off Pandya akin to a powerful forehand in tennis that landed 10 rows behind the long-on boundary.
Miller completed a 26-ball half-ton with a slashed six off Shivam Dube, whose pace-off delivery got rid of Brevis, who mistimed a cross-batted shot.
Bumrah's first spell
================
When South African innings started, Bumrah was too hot to handle during his two-over opening spell. He got the dangerous Quinton de Kock with a delivery that was angled into the left-hander after pitching slightly back of length.
De kock played all over it as the ball clipped the leg bail.
New man Ryan Rickleton got a delivery that was angled across and leaving the outside edge of his bat — a display of Bumrah’s top-notch skill-set.
Rickleton did pull Arshdeep for a six after the seamer had removed skipper Aiden Markram with a delivery that gripped the surface and he failed to check his uppish drive, becoming a simple catch at mid-off.
A similar kind of delivery from Bumrah stopped and bounced a tad extra, hitting the upper part of Ricketon's willow and it lobbed up to the mid-off fielder.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Stalin alleges Centre's 3-language formula 'covert' mechanism to impose Hindi
Chennai (PTI): Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin, referring to the CBSE's recently unveiled curriculum framework, on Saturday alleged the "so-called three-language formula" is in reality a "covert" mechanism to expand Hindi into non-Hindi speaking regions.
Stalin, also the president of the ruling DMK, alleged the curriculum framework by the CBSE, aligned with the National Education Policy 2020, was not an innocent academic reform. It was a calculated and deeply concerning attempt at linguistic imposition that vindicates our long-standing apprehensions.
The chief minister alleged that under the guise of promoting "Indian languages", the BJP-led NDA government was aggressively advancing a centralising agenda that privileges Hindi while systematically marginalising India’s rich and diverse linguistic heritage.
"The so-called three-language formula is, in reality, a covert mechanism to expand Hindi into non-Hindi speaking regions," he alleged in a statement.
For students in southern states, this framework effectively translates into "compulsory Hindi learning." He alleged: "Yet, where is the reciprocity? Will students in Hindi-speaking states be mandated to learn Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam—or even languages like Bengali and Marathi? The complete absence of such clarity exposes the one-sided and discriminatory nature of this policy. The irony is stark and unacceptable."
The same Union government that has "failed" to make Tamil a mandatory language in Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan schools—and has consistently failed to appoint adequate Tamil teachers, now seeks to lecture states on promoting Indian languages. "This is not commitment, this is rank hypocrisy."
Stalin wondered if the Union government had any understanding of ground realities; of availability of teachers, training capacity, and infrastructure? He asked: "Where are the qualified teachers to implement this sweeping exercise. And crucially, where is the funding to support this enormous burden on the education system? Hence, this appears to be yet another ill-conceived policy announced without planning, resources, or accountability. This was not merely a question of language, it was a question of fairness, federalism, and equal opportunity."
By structurally privileging Hindi-speaking students, this policy risks creating entrenched advantages in higher education and employment, further widening regional disparities.
At a time when the world is moving forward at an unprecedented pace, our children must be prepared for the future. The priority should be to equip them with skills in emerging sectors like artificial intelligence, AVGC (Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, and Comics), and to strengthen scientific temper and critical thinking. Instead, this regressive and rigid language burden threatens to derail their progress, the CM claimed.
The Union government appears determined to impose Hindi, brushing aside the legitimate, consistent, and democratic concerns raised by Tamil Nadu and several other states. This approach is a direct affront to the principles of cooperative federalism and an insult to the linguistic identity of millions of Indians. India’s strength lies in its diversity and not in "enforced uniformity."
Any attempt to disturb this delicate balance is not just misguided, it is dangerous. "Such policies strike at the very foundation of our pluralistic nation and will be firmly opposed."
Further, he asked: Does the Edapadi Palaniswami-led AIADMK and its NDA allies in Tamil Nadu subscribe to this imposition? Or will they, for once, stand up for the rights, identity, and future of our students?
