Women's Asia Cup: India outclass Pakistan to reach finals
Kuala Lumpur, June 9 : Six-time champions India once again stormed into the finals of the Women's Asia Cup after thrashing arch-rivals Pakistan by seven wickets in their last league encounter at the Kinrara Academy Oval here on Saturday.
Electing to bat, Pakistan folded up for a meagre 72/7 with Sana Mir (20 not out) and Nahida Khan (18) managing to reach the double figures in a lacklustre batting effort.
In response, skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (34 not out) and her deputy Smriti Mandhana (38) steered the Indians to a comfortable victory with 23 balls to spare after starting on a shaky note.
Earlier, left-arm spinner Ekta Bisht spun a web around the Pakistanis with three wickets, and was well assisted by the other Indian bowlers who stuck to a disciplined effort.
During their chase, India too got off to a forgettable start, losing former skipper Mithali Raj and Deepti Sharma for ducks with the scoreboard ticking 5/2.
But thereafter the defending champions did not look back as the left-right combo of Smriti and Harmanpreet forged a brilliant 65-run third wicket stand to take the side within sniffing distance of victory.
Table toppers India (8 points) will now have to wait for the final league match between Bangladesh women and hosts Malaysia later in the day, to find their opponents for Sunday's summit clash.
On the other hand, second-placed Pakistan, with six points in their kitty will desperately hope for an upset by Malaysia over Bangladesh (also on 6 points) to bag a place in the final.
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Congress cites Maniben Patel's diary entries, asks Rajnath to apologise for Babri claim
New Delhi (PTI): The Congress on Saturday shared diary entries of Vallabhbhai Patel's daughter from a book to rebut Defence Minister Rajnath Singh's claim that India's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, wanted to build the Babri masjid using public funds, and demanded that Singh apologise for spreading "falsehoods".
Congress general secretary in charge of communications, Jairam Ramesh, claimed the defence minister was spreading falsehoods to “improve his relationship” with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“Here is Maniben's original diary entry in Gujarati on pages 212-213 in the book ‘Samarpit Padchhayo Sardarno’ by CA R S Patel 'Aaresh', published by Sardar Patel Vallabhbhai Patel Memorial Society, 2025,” Ramesh said on X, sharing screenshots of the relevant pages from the book.
“There is a huge difference between what is contained in the original diary entry and what Rajnath Singh ji and his fellow ‘distorians’ are propagating,” Ramesh said.
“The Defence Minister must apologise for the falsehoods he is spreading, simply to improve his relationship with the PM,” he claimed.
The Congress had earlier termed Singh's claim that Nehru wanted to build the Babri masjid using public funds a “lie” and “WhatsApp university story”, and said the defence minister should not walk in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's path.
Addressing a gathering at Sadhli village in Gujarat's Vadodara district last Tuesday, Singh said Nehru wanted to build the Babri masjid using public funds, but Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel didn't allow his plans to succeed.
The BJP had cited a book by Vallabhbhai Patel's daughter to double down on Singh's claims, and said the first prime minister also said he felt "repelled" by some of the temples in south India despite their beauty.
“The source of what Rajnath Singh said is the 'Inside Story of Sardar Patel, Diary of Maniben Patel'," BJP Rajya Sabha MP and national spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi had said at a press conference at the party headquarters while responding to media queries on the issue.
Trivedi claimed that on Page 24 of the book, it is written that Nehru also raised the question of the Babri mosque, but Sardar Patel made it clear that the government could not spend any money on building a mosque.
