Australia thrash India by 10 wickets to level 3-match ODI series 1-1
Visakhapatnam, Mar 19: An unbeaten 121-run opening partnership between Mitchell Marsh (66 not out) and Travis Head (51 not out) helped Australia thrash India by 10 wickets in the second ODI here on Sunday to level the three-match series 1-1.
Chasing a meagre target of 118 after Mitchell Starc's 5/53 had destroyed India's batting, the tourists completed the task in just 11 overs.
Starc made full use of helpful conditions to bundle out India for 117 in 26 overs. His ninth five-wicket haul in ODIs along with fine display from Sean Abbott (3/23) and Nathan Ellis (2/13) gave Indian batters no chance to settle down on seaming and swinging conditions.
Brief Scores:
India: 117 all out in 26 overs (Virat Kohli 31, Axar Patel 29 not out, Mitchell Starc 5/53, Sean Abbott 3/23, Nathan Ellis 2/13).
Australia: 121 for no loss in 11 overs (Travis Head 51 not out, Mitchell Marsh 66 not out).
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
'Rear-guard action': BJP over Mamata accepting sports minister's resignation after Messi event
New Delhi (PTI): The BJP on Tuesday alleged that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's accepting Aroop Biswas' resignation as the state sports minister is nothing but a "rear-guard action" to douse public anger over the mismanagement of football icon Lionel Messi's event last week.
BJP co-in-charge for West Bengal Amit Malviya alleged that this is also an "open confession" that the Messi event fiasco was not accidental but a government-manufactured disaster, borne out of the poor governance of Banerjee, her ministers and the state bureaucracy.
Banerjee on Tuesday accepted Biswas' resignation as the sports minister in the wake of the controversy over the mismanagement of football icon Messi's event last week, a senior leader of the ruling TMC said.
Biswas, who had written to the chief minister seeking to be relieved of his responsibilities as sports minister, will continue as a cabinet minister, retaining charge of the power department.
ALSO READ: Slain Australia beach shooting suspect native of Hyderabad: T'gana police
Reacting to the development, Malviya said in a post on X, "TMC Sports Minister Aroop Biswas resigns after the Messi fiasco and Mamata Banerjee accepts it in record time."
"Do not mistake this for accountability; this is nothing but a rear-guard action to douse public anger. anger! This is not 'Raj Dharma'," he added.
The BJP leader alleged that the incident was the outcome of "loot" of common people which is "so synonymous" with the TMC.
The incident was also the outcome of the "shameless VIP culture that TMC thrives on and deep-rooted cronyism promoted by Banerjee," he charged.
Malviya further alleged that Biswas' resignation exposes a "collective failure of Mamata Banerjee, her partisan bureaucracy, and her crony cabinet".
"This is a symbolic sacrifice, a political hoax, soon to be buried under layers of bureaucracy, with no justice, no accountability, and no remorse," the BJP leader said, adding, "No resignation will bring back the time lost, the money wasted, or the stolen chance for football lovers to witness Messi in Kolkata."
