Pandya takes four wickets as England post challenging 198/9
Bristol, July 8: Hardik Pandya returned with career best bowling figures (4/38) but England rode on their superb start to post a challenging 198/9 in 20 overs in the third and final T20I against India at the County Ground here on Sunday.
Pandya bowled 11 dot balls in the middle overs and accounted for the wickets of Alex Hales (30; 24b; 3x4; 2x6), skipper Eoin Morgan (6), comeback man Ben Stokes (14) and Jonny Bairstow (25; 14b, 2x4, 2x6) to not allow England to build on their solid start.
Pandya was taken for 22 runs in his first over with England's top-scorer Jason Roy (67; 31b; 4x4, 7x6) taking him to the cleaners.
But the all-rounder came roaring back to first remove Morgan and Hales in the same over and then repeating the same in the 18th over to send Stokes and Bairstow back on his fourth and sixth delivery.
Chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav was dropped raising a few eyebrows as he had taken five wickets in the first game.
Veteran M.S. Dhoni was also at his best behind the stumps, taking five catches and effecting one brilliant run out in the last ball of England's innings to get the wicket of Chris Jordan.
Openers Jos Buttler (34; 21b; 7x4) and Roy gave England a flying start with poor fielding from the visitors helping in the cause too.
In the first six overs of Powerplay, England scored 73/0 with both in-form batters smacking 10 fours and four sixes in the process.
Deepak Chahar (1/43) -- making his international debut in place of injured Bhuvneshwar Kumar -- did not start off well, going for 13 runs with Buttler hitting him for three fours.
In the next over, Butler took Umesh Yadav (1/48) for two back-to-back fours to set the tone for his team before Roy turned on the heat.
The 27-year old hit the first six of the match in the fourth over, a princely down the ground shot at long off before tonking Siddharth Kaul (2/35) for another maximum in the next over to show his intent.
To make matters worse, Butler was dropped by Yuzvendra Chahal (0/30) just after Powerplay although it was a difficult chance.
In the next ball, Roy brought up his fifty in style, slapping Chahal for a six over long-on.
Kaul finally ended the carnage by rattling the stumps as Buttler tried to swipe across the line. Roy and Butler stitched together 94-run partnership for the first wicket.
Chahal followed it up with an economical over, giving away just three runs. Chahar then got his first international scalp with a slower delivery that the dangerous Roy flicked to Dhoni behind the stumps.
At the halfway stage, England were 111/2 with two new batsmen in captain Eoin Morgan and Alex Hales at the crease.
Pandya then dented England's surge as Morgan top-edged a back of a length delivery which Dhoni smothered, clattering the stumps in his follow through, and Hales was caught behind.
Later, Stokes holed out to Virat Kohli at mid off and once again in the same over Bairstow, who was looking good after smacking two fours and sixes, nicked a half volley to the keeper.
The rest of the batsmen could not take England past the 200-mark but still posted a more than par total.
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SC asks states to treat rising child trafficking cases as grave; seeks coordinated action
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court has voiced grave concern over rising cases of child trafficking, saying gangs are operating across the country and if States and Union territories do not take immediate action, thing will go beyond control.
The court said only the state government and its home department can act vigilantly in this regard.
“As a court we can monitor, but ultimately the action has to be on the part of the state government, the police, and other agencies. Therefore, this is our humble request”, a bench comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and K V Viswanathan said during the hearing of a plea on Wednesday.
The bench was irked over the "lackadaisical" approach of several states and UTs in implementing a 2025 judgment aimed at dismantling organised trafficking networks.
Justice Viswanathan said the retrieval of children in some cases proves the problem can be tackled, but it requires a level of political and administrative will which is lacking at present.
The verdict, delivered on April 15, 2025, had mandated several institutional reforms, including completion of trials in trafficking cases within six months on a day-to-day basis.
It had also directed strengthening of Anti-Human Trafficking Units (AHTUs) and improving investigation standards.
Besides asking for setting up of state-level committees to monitor vulnerable trafficking hotspots, it had asked the authorities to treat missing children cases as trafficking unless proven otherwise.
Earlier, the bench had termed the compliance reports filed by a few states as "nothing but an eye wash."
On Wednesday, the bench noted that Madhya Pradesh, Goa, Haryana, Lakshadweep, Mizoram, Odisha, and Punjab had still failed to file reports in the prescribed format.
When the home secretary of Madhya Pradesh offered an apology for the lapse, the bench granted a "final opportunity" but warned that continued failure would lead to states being officially branded as "defaulting".
The bench noted that at least 15 states are yet to constitute review committees mandated to identify and monitor trafficking-prone areas.
The matter will now be heard on April 29.
