Women’s WC: Bhatia, Rana power India to 110-run win over Bangladesh, keep SF hopes alive
Hamilton(PTI): Yastika Bhatia's gritty half-century and Sneh Rana's all-round performance powered India a dominating 110-run win over Bangladesh and kept them in the hunt for a semifinal spot at the ICC Women's World Cup, here on Tuesday.
Opting to bat, India recovered from a mid-inning collapse to post a modest 229 for seven, riding on a responsible 80-ball 50 by Bhatia and a late flourish from Rana (27) and Pooja Vastrakar (30).
Defending the total, the spinners, led by Rana (4/30), controlled the proceedings as they struck at regular intervals.
India bowled out Bangladesh for 119 in 40.3 overs to register their third win of the tournament. The big win helped India improve their Net-Run-Rate (0.768) further.
The Mithali Raj-led side will take on South Africa in the final league match on Sunday. Before that match, if the second-placed Proteas beat West Indies on Thursday India's semi final chances will get better.
India's decision to bring in senior spinner Poonam Yadav (1/25) in place of pacer Meghna Singh paid dividends. With spinners operating from both the ends on a slow track, Bangladesh found the run-scoring difficult.
India restricting Bangladesh to 69/5 after 25 overs.
Lata Mondal (24) and Salma Khatun (32) provided some resistance with a 40-run partnership which was broken by Jhulan Goswami when she dismissed the latter, while Vastrakar accounted for the former a few overs later.
The pace duo of Goswami (2/19) and Vastrakar (2/26) shared four wickets between them while the spinners accounted for the rest.
Earlier, Smriti Mandhana (30) and Shafali Verma (42) shared 74 runs for the opening wicket but Ritu Moni (3/37) and Nahida Akter (2/42) shared five wickets between them to reduce India from 74 for no loss to 108 for 4 at one stage.
Mandhana ended up hitting straight to Fargana Hoque off Akter, while Moni struck twice in two balls in the next over to leave India at 74 for 3 in 15.4 overs.
While Verma was stumped by Nigar Sultana, skipper Mithali Raj (0) was out for a first-ball duck as India lost three wickets in quick succession.
Vice-captain Harmanpreet Kaur (14) then joined Bhatia as the two tried to resurrect the innings but the duo scored only 34 runs in 70 balls before a direct throw from Hoque caught the former short of her crease.
Bhatia (50 off 80) and Richa Ghosh (26) then added 54 runs to take India past the 150-run score. The duo played at a good pace with Ghosh slamming Lata Mondal (0/20) for successive fours in the 30th over.
However, Akter brought Bangladesh back into the game when she had Ghosh caught behind while she tried to cut a ball that was too close to the body.
After completing her fifty, Bhatia too perished in the next ball while trying for a paddle scoop, only to be caught by at short fine leg.
Vastrakar (30) and Rana (27) then came together at 180 for 6 at the end of 44th over to add 48 off 38 balls, taking India past the 200-run mark. With the two going strong, the last 10 overs yielded 64 runs.
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UP Cong holds statewide protest seeking probe into FIR against Swami Avimukteshwaranand
Lucknow (PTI): The Uttar Pradesh Congress on Wednesday staged a statewide protest demanding a fair and transparent inquiry into the FIR lodged against Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati and those who filed the complaint against him.
In a statement issued here, the party said memorandums addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi were submitted through district magistrates in all districts of the state.
Uttar Pradesh Congress spokesperson Manish Hindvi told PTI that the memorandums were handed over through the district administration in all 75 districts.
In the memorandum, the party alleged that Saraswati and his disciples were "unnecessarily harassed and humiliated" by police on the occasion of Amavasya and were prevented from taking a ritual bath (at the Magh Mela). It further alleged that some disciples were manhandled and taken to a police station.
The memorandum also claimed that an FIR was later registered against Saraswati, his disciple Swami Mukundanand Brahmachari and several unidentified persons in a sexual harassment case. It termed the case a "conspiracy" aimed at tarnishing the seer's reputation.
Citing Articles 25 and 26 of the Constitution, the memorandum stated that these provisions guarantee religious freedom and the right of religious denominations to manage their own affairs.
It described the position of shankaracharya held by Saraswati as "one of the highest spiritual posts in Sanatan tradition" and alleged that the entire episode appeared to have been "orchestrated in a planned manner".
"We request that the background of the persons who got the FIR registered be investigated in a transparent manner by a retired high court judge and strict action be taken against them," the memorandum said.
It also sought a "fair and transparent probe" into the allegations levelled against Saraswati so that the truth could be established.
Earlier, Uttar Pradesh Congress president Ajay Rai had told reporters in Varanasi after meeting Saraswati that the party stood firmly with him.
The Congress said it would continue to press for an impartial inquiry into the entire episode.
On February 21, an FIR was lodged in Prayagraj against Saraswati and his disciple Mukundanand Brahmachari on charges of sexually abusing two persons, including a minor, over the past year at a gurukul and religious congregations, including the recently concluded Magh Mela.
Days after he was booked, Saraswati had said on Monday that he would not oppose his arrest and asserted that the "fabricated story" would be exposed sooner or later.
At a press conference on Wednesday, Saraswati alleged that criminals rule in Uttar Pradesh, level allegations and influence investigations, as he denied having any contact with the two persons for whose alleged sexual abuse he has been booked.
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