1st T20I: Abhishek Sharma's India outclass New Zealand by 48 runs
Nagpur (PTI): Abhishek Sharma's pyrotechnics followed a now familiar script with India out-batting New Zealand by 48 runs in the opening T20 International here on Wednesday.
Abhishek, who has made it a habit of lighting up the evenings in stadiums across the cricketing globe with his array of monstrous hits, smashed 84 off just 35 balls and was complemented well by Rinku Singh (44 not out off 20 balls) who applied the finishing touches in India's commanding score of 238 for 7 on a Jamtha shirt-front.
In reply, Glenn Phillips (78 off 40 balls) did indulge in some scary hitting in company of Mark Chapman (39 off 24 balls) as they added 79 off just seven overs but scoreboard pressure was such that they were eventually buried under a deluge of runs.
New Zealand's final reply was 190 for 7 with Varun Chakravarthy (2/37) again picking up crucial wickets while Arshdeep Singh and Hardik Pandya provided initial breakthroughs.
In the past 12 months, one format where Indian team has looked unbeatable is the shortest one and the primary reason being the 25-year-old Abhishek, whose Key Responsibility Area (KRA) in the T20 national team is to leave the opposition bowlers scared as well as scarred.
On the day, the world's top ranked T20I batter showed no mercy while making the Black Cap fielders look like mere bystanders with eight towering sixes and five fours.
Abhishek's carefree hitting also helped his skipper Suryakumar Yadav (32 off 22 balls) get some runs although he was far from his best. But the young opener's attack at all costs gave his skipper a chance to play himself in during a 99-run stand off 47 balls for the third wicket.
Towards the end, Rinku Singh (44 not out off 20 balls) got to play an innings of substance after a long time with India ending their 20 overs in fantastic fashion.
For someone who nowadays can hardly put a foot wrong, it took Abhishek exactly five deliveries to set his eye in against Jacob Duffy (2/27 in 4 overs) before the first of his eight maximums came out of the closet. It was a lofted six into the sight screen.
In between, Sanju Samson (10) and Ishan Kishan (8) wasted opportunities and when Abhishek got his chance next time, there was no looking back.
Abhishek's USP is his tremendous bat-speed that he generates and New Zealand's attack didn't have any bowler of express pace to challenge the Punjab southpaw. The bat comes straight and gives him ample chance to create more scoring zones in-front of the square.
The deliveries from Kristian Clarke and Kyle Jamieson came at an ideal speed of early 130 clicks on a featherbed and balls sailed over the ropes.
Such was his six-hitting prowess that his first three boundaries came off spinner Glenn Phillips' bowling after he had smashed four maximums.
At the other end, Suryakumar looked scratchy but two shots -- a back-foot punch through covers off Duffy and a whiplashed six off Clarke behind square -- did provide glimpses of a vintage Indian skipper. But in general, he is still far from his best.
A normally consistent Black Caps skipper Mitchell Santner (1/37 in 3 overs) did try to slow things and got some partial success when Suryakumar was holed out at long-on, failing to get required the elevation.
Undeterred, Abhishek carried on with his mayhem although he was out in the very next over when leg-spinner Ish Sodhi just shortened the length of his leg-break a tad bit and Jamieson gobbled it with his giant palms.
Towards the end, Rinku got to face enough deliveries to make an impact as he clobbered Daryl Mitchell's first and innings' last over for 21 runs to take the team to an improbable total.
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Latest: Trump says he won't use force to acquire Greenland in Davos address
Davos (AP): US President Donald Trump insisted he wants to “get Greenland, including right, title and ownership,” but he said he wouldn't employ force to achieve that — using his speech Wednesday at the World Economic Forum to repeatedly deride European allies and vow that NATO shouldn't stand in the way of US expansionism.
He urged NATO to allow the US to take Greenland from Denmark and added an extraordinary warning, saying alliance members can say yes, “and we'll be very appreciative. Or you can say, No,' and we will remember.”
Trump tried to focus on his efforts to tame inflation and spur the economy back home. But his more than 70-minute address focused more on his gripes with other countries.
Here is the latest:
France's Macron cries fake news!' over Trump prescription drug claims
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President Emmanuel Macron's office is disputing Trump's assertion in Davos that he successfully pressured the French leader to increase prescription drug prices.
“It's being claimed that President @EmmanuelMacron increased the price of medicines. He does not set their prices. They are regulated by the social security system and have, in fact, remained stable,” Macron's office said in a post on X. “Anyone who has set foot in a French pharmacy knows this.”
It included a GIF of Trump speaking overlaid with the words, “FAKE NEWS!”
Trump says some countries' legislative bodies will need to approve joining his Board of Peace
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The president said while in a meeting with the Egyptian president that there will be “a lot” of countries represented on his Board of Peace.
“Some need parliamentary approval but for the most part, everybody wants to be on,” he said.
Business tycoons wait outside Trump's CEO reception
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The CEOs of Visa, Cisco, Salesforce, JPMorgan Chase and Amazon are among the high-profile figures gathering outside Trump's upcoming Davos event with global business leaders.
Sports will also be represented there, with Baltimore Orioles owner David Rubenstein and FIFA president Gianni Infantino spotted among the expanding group.
After meeting Swiss president, Trump will meet with leaders of Poland, Belgium and Egypt
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White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said after those individual meetings, which was expected to occur behind closed doors, the president will address business leaders. He will then meet with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.
Denmark's foreign minister is guarded on Trump speech
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Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen was in a meeting on Ukraine and didn't hear Trump's speech, but says he has been briefed on it.
He said in Copenhagen that it's clear Trump's intentions toward Greenland remain “intact,” Danish public broadcaster DR reported.
Of Trump's statement that he won't use force to acquire the island, Løkke Rasmussen said: “That is positive in isolation, but it doesn't make the problem go away.”
Trump meets Swiss president and says he'll talk with Ukraine's Zelenskyy later this week
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Trump told Swiss President Guy Parmelin that his country was “great” and “beautiful.”
“You do make great watches, too,” he said during a brief part of the meeting that was open to the media.
Trump also clarified that he's meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday, not Wednesday, as he said during his address.
Trump's chat with World Economic Forum CEO wraps
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The president did not make any major news in the discussion, which lasted about 20 minutes. Trump then left the stage.
Trump repeats campaign promises that US can grow its way out of debt problems
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Asked about US debt climbing toward USD 40 trillion — more than the size of the annual US economy — Trump insisted that he can solve the problem with economic growth and eliminating fraud and excessive spending.
“I think we're going to be paying off debt,” he boasted.
Trump made similar promises when he first ran for president in 2016 and again in 2024. He has added more to US debt totals than any president.
He repeated claims about fraud in Minnesota, mentioning the figure USD 19 billion — a miniscule fraction of annual federal spending that is measured in trillions. Trump also said the US is cutting spending, although he has exaggerated the effects of his government efficiency efforts.
Trump suggests a shared culture' between US and Europe
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Leaving vague exactly what kind of “culture” that he meant, Trump said the West has prospered because of a shared and “very special” one.
“This is the precious inheritance that America and Europe have in common,” Trump said. “We share it. But we have to keep it strong.”
Trump added that he wanted to “defend that culture” and “rediscover the spirit that lifted the West from the depths of the dark ages to the pinnacle of human achievement.”
Many Americans descend from Europeans, including settlers who came to the North American continent hundreds of years ago. But the Trump administration also has faced criticism at times for focusing on that side of US culture when the country's population is far more diverse.
Crowd groans as Trump derides the intellect of Somali immigrants
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“But equally importantly, we're cracking down on more than USD 19 billion in fraud that was stolen by Somalian bandits,” Trump said, referring to ongoing fraud investigations in Minnesota that have focused on members of the diaspora. “Can you believe that— Somalia? They turned out to be higher IQ than we thought.”
Trump wraps up his remarks after more than 70 minutes
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The president finished his speech by congratulating the people in the room for all their successes and declared that the US is “back, bigger, stronger, better than ever before.”
“I'll see you around,” he said.
He then sat down on a chair on stage for a question-and-answer session with World Economic Forum CEO Borge Brende, who was seated throughout Trump's remarks.
Trump claims without us, most of the countries don't even work'
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He's taken digs at French President Emmanuel Macron over Europe for selling pharmaceuticals to the US at a premium. He ripped Denmark for a lack of appreciation for the U.S. protection of Greenland during World War II. And he's blasted NATO for being too dependent on the United States.
“The United States is keeping the whole world afloat,” he said.
A tale about Swiss watches
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While speaking in Switzerland, Trump told a story about the country that he said “rubbed me the wrong way.”
He said Switzerland makes beautiful Rolex watches, but “were paying nothing to the United States” to export them. So, he set a tariff, which he said caused representatives from the country and the company to call and visit him and urge him to reverse it.
He brought down the tariff, but said he felt the country was “taking advantage” of the US.
“A majority of the money they make is because of us, because we never charge them anything,” he said.
Nearly an hour in, Trump talks US housing and pans some affordability policies
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Talking about the US market, Trump threw a curveball, saying essentially that he didn't want to simply expand housing supply because it could lower values for people who already own homes.
“If I want to really crush the housing market, I could do that so fast,” he said. But, “I don't want to do anything to hurt” people who have built wealth through their home equity.
“I don't want to do anything to hurt” existing homeowners, Trump said. He instead emphasized his desire to see lower interest rates, though that is a policy that, over time, would drive home prices up because it fuels demand.
Trump mocks Macron's sunglasses
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Trump mocked French President Emmanuel Macron's sunglasses to audience's laughter.
“I watched him yesterday with those beautiful sunglasses. What the hell happened?” Trump said to the loudest laughter so far.
The French president has worn sunglasses indoors in recent days as he's joked about a “completely harmless” eye condition.
Trump blasts Denmark for insufficient military spending on Greenland
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Trump asserted that Denmark promised to spend “over USD 200 million to strengthen Greenland's defences” and then insisted it has “spent less than 1 per cent of that.”
He was referring to a 2019 commitment from the Danish government, made during Trump's first presidency, when he first floated the idea of the US taking control of the semiautonomous territory of Denmark.
Copenhagen has not disputed that the implementation of that commitment has been slow.
In recent weeks, with Trump pushing the US takeover again, Denmark's Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen unveiled an expanded defense plan with a USD 2 billion budget that includes three new ships, long-range drones and more satellite capacity.
Trump did not mention that latest commitment.
Trump taunts Canada
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Trump needled his northern neighbour after Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Tuesday that the current phase of global diplomacy was a “rupture” and called for “middle powers” to “act together.”
Trump said Canada gets many “freebies” from the US and “should be grateful.”
He said Carney's Davos speech showed he “wasn't so grateful.”
“Canada lives because of the United States,” Trump said. “Remember that, Mark, the next time you make your statements.”
Once again, Trump falsely insists the 2020 election was rigged'
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Before the audience in Davos, Trump repeated a claim he's said before that the Russian war on Ukraine “wouldn't have started” if the 2020 US presidential election “weren't rigged.”
One thing is for certain: The 2020 election was not stolen. Biden earned 306 electoral votes to Trump's 232. Trump's allegations of massive voting fraud have been broadly refuted.
Trump, who has long been calling for prosecutions related to the 2020 election, added that “people will soon be prosecuted for what they did.” It wasn't immediately clear what he meant.
Trump says Venezuelan oil industry will do fantastically well' with US help
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Trump reiterated that he's getting cooperation from Venezuelan officials following the ouster of Nicolás Maduro and predicted good times for the South American country's economy.
“Every major oil company is coming in with us,” Trump said. 'It's amazing.”
Earlier this month, at a White House meeting, Exxon Mobil CEO Darren Woods said the Venezuelan market is “un-investable” in its current state.
Trump blasts wind energy, criticizing China and Europe in one swipe
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Windmills are “all over Europe” and are “losers” bought by “stupid people,” the US president said.
He made it clear that it was European nations that were the “stupid people” buying windmills from China.
It's part of his broad claims about energy. Trump is promoting oil and coal, traditional fossil fuels, and nuclear energy, while blasting newer, cleaner energy sources.
Calling windmills “those damn things,” he renewed his critiques that they “kill the birds” and “ruin the landscapes."
Trump mused that China owns the international windmill market but doesn't use them within its borders.
Trump goes after Europe
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Within 20 minutes of starting his speech, Trump had already criticized Europe several times.
He said he was European in heritage and wants to see it do well, but argued European countries are “destroying themselves.”
On windmills, immigration and trade, he tore into the continent, while many of its leaders were in his presence at the conference.
“Certain places in Europe are not even recognizable,” he said. “Here in Europe, we've seen the fate that the radical left tried to impose upon America.”
Trump touts efforts to address power supplies that AI data centres use
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The president referenced a recent push by his administration to get tech companies to bid on contracts to build new power plants, so that data centre operators, not regular consumers, pay for their own power needs.
“They're building their own power plants, which when added up is more than any country anywhere in the world is doing,” Trump said.
Audience laughs in response to Trump's one-liners
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The audience largely rewarded Trump's one-liners with laughter.
“People are doing very well,” the US president said to laughs inside the Congress Hall. They're very happy with me.”
The overflow room also produced chuckles and giggles as attendees watched the speech on screens.
Distant echo of protesters heard in Davos
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Distant protesters made their voices, though not their words, heard from the steps outside the Congress Centre as Trump addressed the gathering of elites.
Their words were too faint to be discernible, but they clearly expressed angry opposition to Trump.
Trump defiant about his results at the one-year mark
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In the first part of his Davos speech, Trump touted America's finances and living standards, which he said he achieved against expectations.
“Virtually all of the so-called experts predicted my plans to end this failed model would trigger a global recession and runaway inflation,” he said. “But we have proven them wrong.”
Trump said he wanted to spend the day discussing “how we have achieved this economic miracle” and suggested, as he did from the White House yesterday, that other countries in attendance could learn from his success.
Trump brags on US economy
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Trump touted economic growth in the US, using many of his characteristic superlatives that exaggerate circumstances on the ground.
“The USA is the economic engine on the planet,” Trump said. “You all follow us down, and you follow us up.”
Trump credited his tariff policies, which allies have harshly criticized ahead of his arrival at Davos. The president has also repeated his false claims that he inherited record inflation and has completely eliminated it.
His economic framing is similar to how he reviewed his first year back in power in a lengthy White House press briefing Tuesday before he travelled to Europe.
Trump says Europe is heading in the wrong direction
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The president echoed criticisms he had made of Europe in his United Nations address last year and his administration's latest national security statements.
“I love Europe and I want to see Europe go good, but it's not heading in the right direction,” he said.
