WPL: Kiran Navgire's bruising fifty help UP Warriorz score 7-wicket win over MI
Bengaluru, Feb 28: Kiran Navgire and Alyssa Healy unleashed a remarkable assault on Mumbai Indians bowlers to power UP Warriorz to a seven-wicket win in their Women's Premier League match here on Wednesday.
Navigre (57, 31b, 6x4, 4x6) and Healy (33, 29 balls) added 94 runs for the opening wicket stand in just 9.1 overs as the Warriorz eased past the 162-run target in 16.4 overs to hand the defending champions their first defeat of the season.
Mumbai batting suffered in the absence of skipper and in-form batter Harmanpreet Kaur, who is nursing a niggle, as a laboured 55 off 47 balls from Hayley Matthews guided them to 161 for six.
It was a competitive total but the Mumbai bowlers would not have suspected a carnage like the one Navigre and Healy unloaded on them.
Navigre, who is the only Indian women batter to score a 150-plus score in senior T20s, fully exploited her promotion as opener, as Mumbai also suffered from the injury-enforced absence of lead pacer Shabnim Ismail.
Healy gave a sound start to UP's chase with two successive boundaries off pacer Nat-Sciver Brunt, and they kept the momentum going from that point.
Navigre, who made a slow start making five off six balls, slipped into her aggressive best against pacer Issy Wong, hammering her for four fours in the third over to collect 16 runs and it was just the beginning of the onslaught.
Navigre, who was dropped on 42 by Wong near the ropes off Matthews, soon completed his fifty in just 25 balls and it came through a thundering six off the West Indian spinner over long-on.
But leg-spinner Amelia Kerr had player of the match Navigre stumped to give a bite of respite to Mumbai, who seemed to have gained a foothold as Wong dismissed both Healy and Tahlia McGrath in the 11th over.
They needed 64 runs at this stage, but Grace Harris (38, 17 balls) and Deepti Sharma (27, 20 balls) made those runs with minimum fuss.
Earlier, Mumbai made a sedate start to their innings and had to wait till the fourth over for the first four.
Yastika Bhatia (26, 22b) gave Mumbai the much-needed acceleration when the left-hander hammered 18 runs off left-arm pacer Anjali Sarvani through a sequence of three fours and a six, which was thumped right over the bowler's head.
However, Bhatia did not last long as a pull played closer to her body off Harris ended in the hands of Rajeshwari Gayakwad.
Matthews too tried to up the tempo and found the occasional big hits amid a slew of mis-time shots. Her four and six off successive balls off left-arm spinner Gayakwad were a reminder to her power and timing when in flow.
Matthews, who was dropped on 43 by Deepti off Harris, reached her fifty in 44 balls but could not kick on.
Her effort to clear long-on off Gayakwad did not have elevation and distance as Harris completed an easy catch.
A couple of hefty blows in the final stages by Pooja Vastrakar (18, 12b) and Wong helped MI to cross the 150-run mark.
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Ram Temple built due to commitment of those in power; India already a Hindu Rashtra: Bhagwat
Nagpur (PTI): The Ram Temple in Ayodhya was built due to the commitment of those in power and the support of everyone in the country, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat has said, emphasising that there is no need to declare India a Hindu Rashtra as it already is.
He was addressing a programme on Monday to felicitate individuals under whose leadership and guidance the Ram temple was constructed. The programme was organised by Dr Hedgewar Smarak Samiti in Reshimbagh here, according to a release issued by RSS.
Bhagwat said the temple was built by Lord Ram’s own will. Comparing it to the lifting of Govardhan (the mountain by Lord Krishna), he said such a feat does not happen unless everyone contributes.
"It rests on the Lord’s fingertip, but that fingertip does not move until people contribute their wood. The temple was built in the same way," he said.
Bhagwat further said that for the resurgence of Sanatan Dharma, the resurgence of Bharat is essential—an idea expressed 150 years ago by Yogi Aurobindo. As each contribution is made, he said, divine power continues to guide the fulfilment of this resolve.
The process of resurgence began in 1857, he pointed out.
Referring to the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Bhagwat said that when the new government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi took oath, The Guardian in London published an article stating, "On this day, Indians have finally said goodbye to the British."
"Technically, we said goodbye on August 15, 1947, but we were not fully certain," he added.
Bhagwat questioned whether the Ram Temple would have been built without committed leadership.
If those in power were not committed, would the temple have been built? he asked.
"Bharat must rise. But what is Bharat? What kind of resurgence? What is Bharat-India? We were lost in this dilemma, and time was also lost.
"But our country chose a path. If there hadn't been such a massive movement (Ramjanmabhoomi Andolan), would the temple have been built? The movement happened on such a scale. But if those in power weren't committed to building the Ram temple, would it have been built?" he asked.
The RSS chief reiterated that the temple was built with the support of every individual in the country.
"The decision to build the temple was made, but without a strong foundation, how would it stand? Every person in Bharatvarsh contributed. Then Lord Ram’s fingertip performed its miracle, and this process will continue," he said.
Bhagwat also noted that the idea of Hindustan as a Hindu Rashtra was once mocked.
"Hindustan is a Hindu Rashtra. Until the Ram Temple was built, people laughed at this claim. Today, the same people say Hindustan is the land of Hindus," he said.
Many people ask the RSS to declare India a Hindu Rashtra, "but we say there is no need to declare what's already true, Bhagwat stressed.
"The Sun rises in the east—do we need to declare it? Similarly, Bharat is a Hindu Rashtra; it is already a reality, and everyone accepts it. But back then? Everyone mocked it. Those early inexperienced workers had faith in their hearts, belief in (RSS founder) Dr Hedgewar's words, so despite all this, they kept working," he said.
Bhagwat said the felicitation event was a way to express gratitude to all those who contributed to building the temple.
"They have done their work; now we must do ours. They were given the specific task of building the temple, and they excelled beyond expectations, making it more grand and beautiful than imagined, and it will be even more beautiful," he added.
Future plans are underway, Bhagwat said and called on people to contribute towards making the nation stronger and more prosperous.
"We must work to make it greater, more grand, and more beautiful than imagined, so that Dharma is established in the world,” he said.
He said the world's need can only be fulfilled by Bharat, and Bharat's resurgence will be done by Bharat's children, and that no other country will save Bharat.
"Bharat will rise great and save the whole world. This is written fate. If we contribute to fulfilling it, it will happen sooner, with minimal loss," he added.
