New Zealand knocks India out of the ICC World Cup ‘19
Manchester, July 10: India's famed top-order imploded on a day when it mattered most as a gritty New Zealand survived a swift counter attack from Ravindra Jadeja to win an exciting World Cup semi-final by 18 runs, here Wednesday.
Indian top-order had one failure due and much to their horror, the semi-final proved to be their doomsday.
Jadeja (77 off 59 balls) used every ounce of his 'bits and pieces' skill but the 'men in blue' could only get as far as 221 in 49.3 overs in pursuit of 240.
New Zealand made it to their second successive final, with credit going to their pacers' Matt Henry (3/37) and Trent Boult's (2/42) deadly opening spell and Lockie Ferguson's steely nerve in the penultimate over.
The script was eerily similar to the 2015 World Cup semi-final and just like that evening in Sydney, skipper Virat Kohli was once again out cheaply and Mahendra Singh Dhoni (50) was stuck in the middle overs.
Mitchell Santner (2/34) bottled Dhoni up and there was too much left for Jadeja to do even as he smacked four sixes and four boundaries to raise hopes of a turnaround.
Call it irony, Dhoni, in what could be his last international innings, was run-out by a direct throw from Martin Guptill.
This was after Dhoni and Jadeja raised visions of an improbable win after adding 116 runs for the seventh wicket, coming together at 92 for six.
Jadeja came in under overcast conditions when all looked lost and then wielded the willow like a sword, proving a point to critics like Sanjay Manjrekar in the most befitting manner.
Call it a d j vu but at a time when Jadeja was scripting a near impossible recovery, Kapil Dev was at the Nevill Ground in Tunbridge Wells, where it all changed for Indian cricket one morning.
After his angry 140 character rant on social media, it was time for a 24-carat performance. Jadeja let his game do the talking as Kohli couldn't have asked for a better all-round effort.
He also took one wicket in 10 overs with his left-arm orthodox spin.
But the recovery post 24 for four was wee bit too much.
The chase wasn't a big one but Henry's first spell did upset the applecart once and for all.
Man of the Moment, Rohit Sharma (1) got a delivery from Henry that squared him up as it straightened after pitching. The nick was taken by Tom Latham.
Kohli (1) looked edgy against Boult, who angled a couple across the Indian captain before bringing his stock delivery that swung in.
KL Rahul (1) has never been comfortable against quality seam and swing bowling. It was no different today as Henry bowled one on the good length that deviated late and the opener failed to take his bat away with Latham taking a diving catch.
At 5 for 3, India have had their worst start of the tournament and it just got even worse when Jimmy Neesham's outstanding effort at backward point ended Dinesh Karthik's (6 off 25 balls) misery.
Rishabh Pant (32) and Hardik Pandya (32) then steadied the ship with a 47 run stand with the left-hander hitting some crisp drives through the off-side cordon.
Just when they seemed to have got settled, Pant's impetuosity cost India dearly as his slog sweep was taken by Colin de Grandhomme off Santner.
When Pandya was also gone, trying to slog Santner, the end looked near but Jadeja, who joined Dhoni had other ideas.
Earlier, New Zealand's struggles continued on a fresh day as they finished on 239 for 8.
Resuming at 211 for 5, the Black Caps could add only 28 runs to their overnight tally with a single boundary being hit off the remaining 23 balls.
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Israel launches first airstrike on Lebanon since ceasefire, accusing Hezbollah of breaching truce
Beirut, Nov 28: The Israeli military on Thursday said its warplanes fired on southern Lebanon after detecting Hezbollah activity at a rocket storage facility, the first Israeli airstrike a day after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took hold.
There was no immediate word on casualties from Israel's aerial attack, which came hours after the Israeli military said it fired on people trying to return to certain areas in southern Lebanon. Israel said they were violating the ceasefire agreement, without providing details. Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said two people were wounded.
The back-to-back incidents stirred unease about the agreement, brokered by the United States and France, which includes an initial two-month ceasefire in which Hezbollah members are to withdraw north of the Litani River and Israeli forces are to return to their side of the border. The buffer zone would be patrolled by Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers.
On Thursday, the second day of a ceasefire after more than a year of bloody conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, Lebanon's state news agency reported that Israeli fire targeted civilians in Markaba, close to the border, without providing further details. Israel said it fired artillery in three other locations near the border. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
An Associated Press reporter in northern Israel near the border heard Israeli drones buzzing overhead and the sound of artillery strikes from the Lebanese side.
The Israeli military said in a statement that “several suspects were identified arriving with vehicles to a number of areas in southern Lebanon, breaching the conditions of the ceasefire.” It said troops “opened fire toward them” and would “actively enforce violations of the ceasefire agreement.”
Israeli officials have said forces will be withdrawn gradually as it ensures that the agreement is being enforced. Israel has warned people not to return to areas where troops are deployed, and says it reserves the right to strike Hezbollah if it violates the terms of the truce.
A Lebanese military official said Lebanese troops would gradually deploy in the south as Israeli troops withdraw. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief media.
The ceasefire agreement announced late Tuesday ended 14 months of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah that began a day after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 attack out of Gaza, when the Lebanese Hezbollah group began firing rockets, drones and missiles in solidarity.
Israel retaliated with airstrikes, and the conflict steadily intensified for nearly a year before boiling over into all-out war in mid-September. The war in Gaza is still raging with no end in sight.
More than 3,760 people were killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon during the conflict, many of them civilians, according to Lebanese health officials. The fighting killed more than 70 people in Israel — over half of them civilians — as well as dozens of Israeli soldiers fighting in southern Lebanon.
Some 1.2 million people were displaced in Lebanon, and thousands began streaming back to their homes on Wednesday despite warnings from the Lebanese military and the Israeli army to stay out of certain areas. Some 50,000 people were displaced on the Israeli side, but few have returned and the communities near the northern border are still largely deserted.
In Menara, an Israeli community on the border with views into Lebanon, around three quarters of homes are damaged, some with collapsed roofs and burnt-out interiors. A few residents could be seen gathering their belongings on Thursday before leaving again.
