South Africa dismiss Pakistan for 270 despite fifties from Babar, Shakeel
Chennai (PTI): Skipper Babar Azam and Saud Shakeel struck fifties but Pakistan batters frittered away good starts to be bowled out for a below-par 270 by South Africa during their World Cup match here on Friday.
While Babar managed 50 off 65 deliveries, Shakeel made a run-a-ball 52 but Pakistan couldn't build enough partnerships and also faltered in the back end to be dismissed in 46.4 overs after opting to bat.
Left-arm spinner Tabraiz Shamsi, who was playing only his second game, shone with figures of four for 60, while Marco Jansen (3/43) was superb with the new ball, and Gerald Coetzee (2/42) also snapped two.
It all began with a maiden over from Jansen, who accounted for both the openers -- Abdullah Shafique (9) and Imam-ul-Haq (12) as Pakistan slipped to 38 for 2 in the seventh over.
It could have been third down for the Pakistan in the same over had Jansen hold on to a caught and bowled chance for Mohammad Rizwan.
Rizwan started on an aggressive note, hitting a six off spinner Keshav Maharaj and constructing a 48-run partnership with Babar (50).
However, the lease of life that Jansen offered him did not last long, as in the 16th over, speedster Coetzee sent him back to the pavilion after being caught behind, with the score reading 86 for three.
While Coetzee continued to suppress Pakistan's scoring rate, they brought up their 100 by the 20th over.
The pair of Babar and Iftikhar Ahmed (21) added 43 for the fourth wicket before the latter became the fourth man to be dismissed, holing out to Heinrich Klaasen off Shamsi in the 26th.
In the meantime, Babar brought up his 31st ODI half-century but right after the landmark, he fell prey to Shamsi in the 28th after an attempted sweep saw the ball take the faintest of nicks before being gloved by Quinton de Kock.
Although initially given not out by the umpire, the Proteas opted for the review at the last moment and the decision went in their favour as Pakistan slumped to 141 for five.
Saud Shakeel (52) and Shadab Khan (43) then joined hands and forged a much-needed partnership of 84 runs, bringing their innings back on track. Soon the team 200 was up by the 37th over but Pakistan couldn't make use of the platform.
While Shadab mainly targeted Maharaj, it was Coetzee who got the better of him in the 40th after an attempted pull to mid-wicket saw him getting caught by Maharaj.
With ten more overs remaining, the Pakistani batters looked to go for shots to cross the 300-run mark.
It was a dream far too fetched for the Green Shirts, as they lost Shakeel at 43rd over, followed by Shaheen Afridi (2) to slip to 259 for 8. Mohammad Nawaz (24) and Mohammad Wasim Jr (7) were the final men to fall.
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UP Police hashtag tops global trending list on X for over two hours
Lucknow (PTI): A social media hashtag related to a two-day conference of senior Uttar Pradesh police officers generated more than 1.7 billion impressions and trended at the top of the global list on the social media platform X, officials said.
According to an official statement issued on Sunday night, the Hindi hashtag #UP_Police_Manthan, linked to the "Police Manthan" conference chaired by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, was shared by police units across the state through photographs and videos posted on social media platforms.
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Under the directions of Director General of Police Rajeev Krishna, Uttar Pradesh Police shared conference-related content on X, following which the hashtag was listed on the global trending list at around 5.30 pm on December 28, the statement said.
It added that the hashtag reached the number one position on the global trending list within a short time and remained among the top five global trends from 5.45 pm to 8.45 pm.
During this period, more than 47,000 posts were made using the hashtag, generating a reach of about 38.6 million, around 2.46 lakh views and 1.78 billion impressions, it said.
The statement further said that on December 27 and 28, the hashtag remained at the number one position on the global trending list "for over two hours".
Earlier, DGP Krishna said the two-day conference was held to strengthen people-centric policing, develop a technology-based modern policing system and ensure effective and swift action against crime.
