West Indies' title defence begins on disastrous note, bundled out for 55 by England
Dubai, Oct 23: Spinners Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid demolished the West Indies batting line up as England skittled out the defending champions for just 55 runs in a Super 12 Group 1 match of the T20 World Cup here on Saturday.
It was expected to be an exciting battle between the West Indies' flair and a capable England attack but was reduced to a no-contest following a horrendous batting display by the defending champions.
The West Indies batters only looked for big shots and that became their undoing as they seemed to have forgot that rotating the strike was important when boundaries were difficult to come by.
England bowlers were persistent with their line and length and were rewarded as West Indies managed their second lowest T20 total after 45 they made against the same opponents in 2019.
It was also the third lowest total in T20 World Cup behind 39 and 44 (both by Netherlands).
Rashid gave away just two runs in the 14 balls he bowled and wiped off the middle and lower order, carrying forward the good start Moeen had provided after Eoin Morgan invited the Caribbeans to bat.
Moeen ended his spell in a splendid manner, bowling as many as 18 dot balls in his four overs while conceding just 17 runs.
West Indies batters kept looking for boundaries and they fell by the way side one after another.
Chris Gayle (13) was the only batter who got to the double digits.
Moeen was involved in a terrific battle with the West Indies batters after he opened the attack.
Lendl Simmons (3) and Shimron Hetmyer opened their arms against him but the off-spinner succeeded in sending them back to the dug out.
Chris Woakes, on the other end, bowled a tight spell and also got rid of Evin Lewis (6) while Tymal Mills saw the back of dangerous Gayle, who hit three shots to the fence but could not execute the big shot off the pacer.
But none showed patience that was required to stay on the dry wicket that was offering some assistance to the spinners.
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India & Israel elevate ties to special strategic partnership, vow to soon conclude free trade deal
Jerusalem (PTI): India and Israel on Thursday elevated their "time-tested" relationship to a special strategic partnership and agreed to soon firm up a "mutually beneficial" free trade deal even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi strongly backed the Gaza peace initiative, asserting that humanity must never become a victim of conflict.
Following talks between Modi and his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu, the two sides inked a plethora of agreements to expand cooperation in areas of trade, agriculture, energy, cyberspace and digital payment.
India and Israel also vowed to expand their already close defence partnership by working towards joint development and joint production of military hardware under the framework of the transfer of technologies.
In his media statement, Modi said India's security interest is linked to peace and stability in the Middle East, adding that New Delhi fully supports the Gaza Peace Initiative.
"India's stance is clear: humanity must never become a victim of conflict. A path to peace has been created through the Gaza Peace Plan. India has fully supported these efforts," he said.
"In the future as well, we will continue dialogue and cooperation with all countries," he said.
PM Modi landed in Israel on Wednesday on a two-day visit. It is his second visit to Israel in nine years.
In his remarks, the prime minister said India and Israel have a united view that there is no place for terrorism in the world and both sides stand shoulder-to-shoulder in countering terrorism and its supporters.
"Our relationship is founded on the strong bedrock of deep trust, shared democratic values, and human sensitivities. Our bond has stood the test of every trial of time," he said.
"Today, we have taken the historic decision to elevate our time-tested partnership to the status of a 'Special Strategic Partnership'," he said.
The prime minister also announced the establishment of an India-Israel critical and emerging technologies partnership to impart a new momentum for cooperation in areas of artificial intelligence, quantum, and critical minerals. "I am pleased that an agreement has been reached for the use of UPI in Israel," he said.
The prime minister, referring to the threat of terrorism, said India and Israel will continue to confront the menace unitedly.
"India and Israel are completely clear that there is no place for terrorism in the world. In any form, in any expression, terrorism cannot be accepted," he said.
"We have stood shoulder-to-shoulder in opposing terrorism and its supporters, and we will continue to do so," he added.
India and Israel also discussed the implementation of the India-Middle East Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) and cooperation under the framework of I2U2 (India-Israel-UAE-USA).
