Asia Cup: Disciplined India restrict Bangladesh to 173
Dubai, Sep 21 : Left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja's immaculate bowling helped India restrict Bangladesh to a paltry 173 in the first match of the Asia Cup Super Four stage at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium here on Friday.
Playing his first ODI since July 2017, Jadeja wreaked havoc among the Bangladesh's top and middle-order to return figures of 4/29. He was complimented well by the pace duo of Bhuvneshwar Kumar (3/32) and Jasprit Bumrah (3/37).
Put in to bat, the Bangladeshi innings could have folded much earlier, but thanks to lower-order batsman Mehidy Hasan's courageous 42 that took the team to some sort of respectability after half of the side was back in the hut with just 65 runs on the board.
Continuing his fine form, Bhuvneshwar started the onslaught by getting the early wicket of opener Liton Das (7) in the fifth over, before Bumrah joined the party by removing the other opener Nazmul Hossain Shanto (7) in the very next over.
Veteran Shakib Al Hasan (17) and Mushfiqur Rahim (21) then arrived at the crease and got into damage control, playing the ball to its merit.
But in the 10th over, Jadeja picked up Shakib. After slamming a couple of boundaries, Shakib tried to slog another one but picked Shikhar Dhawan at square leg.
Jadeja immediately jolted the Bangladeshis by trapping new man Mohammad Mithun (9) before packing back Rahim, caught comfortably by Yuzvendra Chahal.
With the top five back in the pavilion at the score of 65 runs, it seemed like India could bundle Bangladesh out cheaply, before Mahmudullah (25) and Mehidy forged a 36-run stand for the seventh wicket to take the team beyond the three figure mark.
Towards the end, skipper Mashrafe Mortaza (26) struck a few lusty blows and together with Mehidy raised a valuable 56-run stand for the eighth wicket to take the side past the 150-run mark even as the Indian bowlers bounced back well to restrict them to 173 in 49.1 overs.
Brief scores: Bangladesh: 173 (Mehidy Hasan 42, Mashrafe Mortaza 26; Ravindra Jadeja 4/29, Bhuvneshwar Kumar 3/32, Jasprit Bumrah 3/37) vs India.
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Ex-PM Devegowda warns opposition of electoral losses if they continue to allege 'vote chori'
New Delhi (PTI): Former Prime Minister H D Devegowda on Monday said the Opposition parties would "suffer" if they continue to raise allegations of "vote chori" and create suspicion in the minds of voters by blaming Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government.
Participating in a discussion on election reforms in the Rajya Sabha, he criticised the Opposition for making a mockery about the Prime Minister "in the streets and on the public platform".
"This (India) is a very big country. A large country. Congress may be in three states. Remember my friends please, by using the words 'vote chori' you are going to suffer in the coming days. You are not going to win the battle," Devegowda said, referring to the Opposition members.
He asked what the Opposition is going to earn by "blaming Narendra Modi's leadership and creating a suspicion in the mind of the voters" through the claims of "vote chori".
"What has happened to their minds? Let them rectify," Devegowda said.
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The former prime minister said that during his over seven decades of public life, he has never raised such issues of vote theft despite facing defeat in elections.
He also cited a letter written by the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru regarding inclusion of "18,000 votes" (voters) in Kerala.
"Why I am telling this (because) during the Nehru period also, there were certain lapses in the electoral system," said Devegowda, who was the prime minister between June 1, 1996 and April 21, 1997.
He said that the Congress party faced defeat in the recent Bihar elections despite raising the issues of mistakes in the electoral rolls.
"What happened after that even after so much review (of voters list). Think (for) yourself! You got six MLAs," the senior Janata Dal (Secular) leader said.
Devegowda questioned the Opposition as to why they want to make allegations against the prime minister on the issue of the voters list?
"Election Commission is there. Supreme Court is there. The Election Commission has given direction to all the state units to rectify all these things," he said.
Devegowda said people of the country have full confidence in Narendra Modi's government and it will come back to power after the next Lok Sabha elections as well.
K R Suresh Reddy, Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) party's Rajya Sabha member from Telangana, said that electoral reforms are the backbone for a healthy democracy.
He said a large and diverse nation like Indi needs clean electoral rolls.
Asserting that strict re-verification should not become a mechanism for exclusion, Reddy said no eligible voter should lose their right to vote simply because accessing paperwork is difficult.
He said while the concern definitely is on the voters' exclusion, "we should also be equally concerned about the percentage of voting."
"What is happening in voting today? Once the election ends, the drama begins. The biggest challenge that the Indian democracy has been facing in spite of two major Constitutional amendments has been the anti-defection. Anti-defection is the name of the game today, especially in smaller states, especially where the legislatures are small in number," Reddy said.
The senior BRS leader suggested creation of a parliamentary committee "which would constantly look into the defection" and "ways and means to cutting that".
AIADMK's M Thambidurai raised the issues related to election campaigning.
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"Election campaigns are one of the important election processes. In that, political parties must be given the proper chance to campaign," he said and cited problems faced by his party in Tamil Nadu in this regard.
Thambidurai said political parties were facing hardships in Tamil Nadu to conduct public meetings and to express their views to the public.
YSRCP's Yerram Venkata Subba Reddy stressed on bringing electoral reforms at both the state and national levels.
He also suggested replacing Electronic Voting Machines with paper ballots in all future elections.
"EVM may be efficient but can't be trusted. Paper ballot may not be efficient but can be trusted. You need trust in democracy," Reddy added.
