Varun makes stellar comeback, Mayank Yadav promising debut as India dismiss Bangladesh for 127
Gwalior, Oct 6: Pace sensation Mayank Yadav made a promising debut and mystery spinner Varun Chakaravarthy an impressive comeback as India limited Bangladesh to 127 in the opening T20 of the three-match series here on Sunday.
A full house at the newly built Shrimant Madhavrao Scindia Cricket Stadium witnessed high quality bowling from India and largely ordinary batting from their opponents.
All eyes were on Mayank (1/21) ever since he marked his run up before toss and the 22-year-old from Delhi did not disappoint in his first competitive game in more than five months.
Having attracted global eyeballs for consistently bowling in the 150kmph range during the IPL, Mayank was able to generate serious pace in his opening spell of 2-1-3-1.
Having suffered a side strain shortly after a sensational IPL debut, there were question marks over his fitness in the long term but he dispelled some of those doubts on Sunday.
Mayank was able to hit 145.7 kmph only in his second ball of the evening before hitting 148.7 kmph with the first ball of his second over.
Veteran batter Mahmudullah was among the batters who were wary of his extra pace and ended up becoming the pacer's first international wicket. The 38-year-old tried to improvise by charging down the wicket but ended up slicing a regulation catch to Washington Sundar at deep point.
Varun (3/31), brought back into the team after nearly three years, troubled the Bangladesh batters who failed to read him. Among them was middle-order batter Jaker Ali who had stumps his castled with a ball that turned back in.
Like Mayank, Varun too was brought inside the powerplay. The mystery spinner bounced back after conceding 15 runs in his opening over by dismissing Towhid Hridoy (12).
At 64 for five in 10 overs, Bangladesh's innings was going nowhere and India were able to press on the advantage thereafter.
Mayank returned to bowl the 13th which went for 15 as Bangladesh batters used his extra pace to collect a six and four in the third man region. He ended his quota by bowling the 19th over which included a couple of yorkers.
Left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh (3/14) had played his part his in the powerplay by removing openers Litton Das and Parvez Hossain Emon before picking his third wicket to end Bangladesh's innings. Hardik Pandya opened the bowling alongside Arshdeep.
A sell out crowd was in attendance as international cricket returned to Gwalior after 14 years. The stadium built in the outskirts of the city made its international debut.
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Sanjay Raut demands re-election, alleges irregularities in EVMs during Maharashtra polls
Mumbai, Nov 25: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Monday demanded a re-election in Maharashtra using ballot papers, claiming there were irregularities with the electronic voting machines (EVMs).
Talking to reporters, Raut alleged several complaints about EVMs malfunctioning and questioned the integrity of the recently held elections.
The BJP-led Mahayuti won 230 out of 288 seats in the assembly elections, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi managed 46 seats, with Shiv Sena (UBT) winning just 20 out of 95 seats it contested.
"We have received nearly 450 complaints regarding EVMs. Despite raising objections repeatedly, no action has been taken on these issues. How can we say these elections were conducted fairly? Hence, I demand that the results be set aside and elections be held again using ballot papers," Raut said.
Citing some instances, he said a candidate in Nashik reportedly received only four votes despite having 65 votes from his family, while in Dombivli, discrepancies were found in EVM tallies, and election officials refused to acknowledge the objections.
The Sena (UBT) leader also questioned the credibility of the landslide victories of some candidates, saying, "What revolutionary work have they done to receive more than 1.5 lakh votes? Even leaders who recently switched parties have become MLAs. This raises suspicions. For the first time, a senior leader like Sharad Pawar has expressed doubts about EVMs, which cannot be ignored."
Asked about the MVA's poor performance in the elections, Raut rejected the idea of blaming a single individual.
"We fought as a united MVA. Even a leader like Sharad Pawar, who commands immense respect in Maharashtra, faced defeat. This shows that we need to analyse the reasons behind the failure. One of the reasons is EVM irregularities and the misuse of the system, unconstitutional practices, and even judicial decisions left unresolved by Justice Chandrachud," he said.
Raut stressed that though internal differences might have existed within the MVA, the failure was collective.
He also accused the Mahayuti of conducting the elections in an unfair manner.
"I cannot call the elections fair given the numerous reports of discrepancies in EVMs, mismatched numbers, and vote irregularities across the state," Raut said.
