Record partnership between Shafali and Smriti helps India beat SL by 30 runs in 4th WT20I
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana hit stroke-filled half-centuries in a record opening partnership to help India beat Sri Lanka by 30 runs in the fourth women's T20I and take 4-0 lead in the five-match series, here on Sunday.
Asked to bat first, openers Shafali (79) and Mandhana (80) stitched a record 162 runs to take India to 221 for 2 -- their highest in the format -- as they sent the Sri Lankan bowlers on a leather-hunt, smashing boundaries almost at will.
This was also Shafali's third half-century in a row in the series.
Later, India restricted Sri Lanka to 191 for 6 in the visiting team's 20 overs.
Captain Chamari Athapaththu top-scored for Sri Lanka with a 37-ball 52 while Hasini Perera chipped in with 33.
For India, Arundhati Reddy and Vaishnavi Sharma snapped two wickets each for 42 and 24 runs respectively.
The 162 runs knocked off by Mandhana and Shafali turned out to be the new opening stand record -- for that matter for any wicket -- for India in the women's T20Is, bettering the duo's own 143-run stand in the 84-run win against the West Indies in November 2019 at Gros Islet.
Shafali's 79 not out came from 46 balls with the help of 12 fours and one sixes while her senior partner Mandhana needed 48 balls for her 80, smashing 11 fours and three sixes.
Brief Scores:
India: 221/2 in 20 overs (Shafali Verma 79, Smriti Mandhana 80; Malsha Shehani 1/32, Nimasha Meepage 1/40).
Sri Lanka: 191 for 6 in 20 overs (Chamari Athapaththu 52; Vaishnavi Sharma 2/24).
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Constitution amendment bill defeat was BJP’s first embarrassment in Parliament: Margaret Alva
Bengaluru (PTI): Senior Congress leader Margaret Alva on Monday said that the constitution amendment bill's defeat in the Lok Sabha on April 17 was the first embarrassment faced by the BJP-led government in Parliament.
She also alleged that the BJP has no real concern regarding women’s reservation.
The opposition INDIA bloc defeated the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill that sought to facilitate the implementation of women's reservation by expanding the strength of the Lok Sabha, apart from making changes to delimitation.
"This is the first embarrassment and defeat faced by the NDA government in the Lok Sabha," the former Governor of Gujarat and Rajasthan said in a press conference here.
According to her, the women’s reservation has been under discussion since the time of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi.
"During Rajiv Gandhi’s tenure, a 14-member committee was formed, and I was appointed as its chairperson. We prepared a report after studying what needed to be done to enhance the dignity of women across 12 sectors. This was submitted to the government in 1989,” Alva, 84-year-old veteran Congress leader, said.
She said political empowerment for women was emphasised in that report, without which, empowerment in any other sphere is not possible.
“Many people in Parliament used to question me — should we vacate seats for women and stay at home cooking? Why insist on this? Has anyone written these seats in your name? This debate has been ongoing since 1975,” Alva explained.
The Congress leader said Rajiv Gandhi had introduced 33 per cent reservation for women in local bodies.
“At that time, all opposition parties united and defeated the Bill,” she pointed out.
Again, during the tenure of former Prime Minister late P V Narasimha Rao, the 33 per cent reservation Bill in local bodies was passed.
“It was the Congress party that first introduced women’s reservation. Now they are falsely accusing us of being anti-women,” Alva charged.
In 2023, the Women’s Reservation Bill was passed with much fanfare, but it was not immediately implemented.
According to her, a condition was imposed for its implementation that it would be enforced based on census data.
"Once it is in the statute book, what is preventing its implementation? Two years for the census and another two years for delimitation — this means it cannot be implemented by 2029. It was not given in 2024, and there is no possibility even in 2029," Alva charged the BJP-led government at the Centre.
The Congress leader said the BJP is saying that the Bill can be implemented based on the 2011 Census, but when the same suggestion was made in 2023, the BJP rejected it.
On increasing the Lok Sabha seats by 50 per cent, she sought to know the basis for it.
“Where did this (idea) come from? Whose advice was taken? Was it decided by the RSS? Or ordered by a court?” Alva asked.
The former union minister said the Constitution amendment bill, which was defeated on April 17 appears to favour certain North Indian states.
“We pay taxes, but they receive greater benefits and allocations. If seats are increased by 50 per cent based on their calculations, we would get only 14 additional seats, while they would get 40. How is this fair?” she questioned.
While 298 members voted in support of the bill in Lok Sabha, 230 MPs voted against it. Out of 528 members who voted, the bill required 352 votes for a two-third majority.
According to the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, Lok Sabha seats were to be increased to "operationalise" the women's reservation act before the 2029 parliamentary polls, following a delimitation exercise based on the 2011 Census.
Seats were also to be increased in state and Union territory Assemblies to accommodate 33 per cent reservation for women.
