Right thing to do: Indian-Americans on Biden dropping out of 2024 Presidential race
New York (PTI): US President Joe Biden did the “right thing” by dropping out of the 2024 presidential race, prominent members of the Indian-American community have said, noting that this must have been a hard decision for him to make but one he took to put “America first.”
Biden, 81, announced on Sunday that he decided to give up running for re-election as president of the United States and endorsed his deputy Harris to be the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party.
“While I acknowledge President Biden's decision to drop out of this race, I accept that decision as his last act to preserve American exceptionalism and as an ‘America First’ decision,” New York-based eminent Indian-American attorney Ravi Batra told PTI.
"Thank you, Joe Biden, for doing what must have been the hardest decision for you, and yet what every soldier on the battlefield does - give our last best measure to America,” he said.
Al Mason, prominent New York-based global real estate advisor and entrepreneur who also advises international education institutions, said that it was expected that Biden would drop out of the 2024 presidential race.
“He did the right thing. He is a good man, but he could never win against Trump. In fact Biden's endorsed candidate Kamala Harris too cannot beat Trump. She has no appeal in the battleground states,” Mason said.
Batra said Biden has served the United States with distinction and his 50-year career, especially as Senate Foreign Relations chair and then as President Barack Obama’s vice president are “remarkable”. He added that the citizens of the country are at their core not Democrats or Republicans or Independents but are Americans first.
Biden has done his “finest duty by dropping out, knowing that he cannot be a standard bearer for the Democratic Party and win against” Republican presidential nominee former US President Donald Trump who after being shot at during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania, “in a moment of extreme personal crisis had the strength of heart and mind on the stage with a face bloodied to put up his fist and say ‘Fight’.”
“After all, that's what all we Americans do. We fight for democracy. We fight for meritocracy, because if we don't fight it's all over. It's game over,” Batra said.
Mason said Trump is “impossible” to beat, even more so now with his 39-year-old Vice Presidential candidate Senator J D Vance, who has great appeal in states like Arizona, North Carolina, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
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2nd WT20I: Shafali, spin trio do star turns in India''s seven-wicket win
Visakhapatnam (PTI): Shafali Verma hit a blistering unbeaten 69 as India made short work of a paltry target to outclass Sri Lanka by seven wickets in the second Women’s T20 International here on Tuesday.
India now lead the five-match series 2-0 after another one-sided victory, having restricted Sri Lanka to a modest 128 for 9 through a collective display of disciplined bowling from the spin trio of seasoned Sneh Rana, ably complemented by young spinners Vaishnavi Sharma and Shree Charani.
During the chase, vice-captain Smriti Mandhana (14) fell cheaply but Shafali, enjoying new found confidence after a stellar show in the World Cup final, sent the bowlers on a leather-hunt during her 34-ball knock, winning it for her team in just 11.5 overs.
The hosts have now completed back-to-back successful chases within 15 overs which speaks volumes about the unit's sky-high confidence.
Shafali's innings had 11 punchy boundaries apart from a maximum.
The floodgates opened when left-arm spinner Inoka Ranaweera bowled a few flighted deliveries and Shafali would step out everytime to hit her over extra cover. Her footwork against slow bowlers was immaculate whether stepping out to loft the ball or rocking back to punch or pull.
Seeing her confidence, the newly appointed Delhi Capitals skipper Jemimah Rodrigues (26 off 15 balls) also attacked as the duo added 58 runs in just 4.3 overs.
By the time Rodrigues was out trying to hit one six too many, the match as a contest was over. Shafali completed her half-century off just 27 balls and completed the formalities in a jiffy.
Earlier, off-spinner Rana, who got a look-in after Deepti Sharma was ruled out due to fever, showed her utility keeping the Lankan batters under tight leash with figures of 1 for 11 in 4 overs, including a maiden which certainly is a rarity in T20 cricket.
Charani, who made an impression during India's ODI World Cup triumph, took 2 for 23 in her quota of overs, while Vaishnavi after an impressive debut in the opening encounter, finished with 2 for 32, not letting the Islanders get easy runs in her second spell.
The last six wickets fell for just 24 runs, but what stood out during India’s bowling effort was their superb ground fielding. After a patchy show in the previous game, the improved sharpness in the field resulted in three run-outs.
Sri Lankan skipper Chamari Athapaththu (31 off 24 balls) looked in good nick as she deposited length deliveries from seamers Kranti Gaud and Arundhati Reddy over the ropes but it was Rana, who kept her quiet by repeatedly pitching on good length.
Unable to manoeuvre the strike and with the big hits suddenly drying up, Athapaththu chanced her arm at another delivery in which Rana had shortened the length slightly.
Not having transferred the weight into the lofted shot, Athapaththu's hoick was pouched cleanly by Amanjot Kaur at long-off.
This was after Athapaththu's opening partner Vishmi Gunaratne (1) had offered a simple return catch to Gaud.
Hasini Perera (22 off 28 balls) and Harshitha Samarawickrama (33 off 32 balls) did stitch a stand of 44 but they could never set the tempo against the Indian spin troika.
Once Hasini offered a tame return catch off a Charani full-toss, Sri Lankans never recovered and lost wickets in a heap towards the end.
