Australia beat India by 5 runs to enter WT20 World Cup final
Cape Town, Feb 23: Defending champions Australia held their nerves as they beat India by five runs in a thrilling Women's T20 World Cup semi-final, here on Thursday.
Chasing a target of 173, India women needed just 31 off the last three overs but only managed 167/8 in the end as spinner Ashleigh Gardner bowled a fantastic final over, giving away just 10 runs.
Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (52 off 34 balls) and Jemimah Rodrigues (43 off 24 balls) added 69 runs in just 6.4 overs to set the platform but while Jemimah was out trying to play a ramp shot, Harmanpreet couldn't slide her bat in while going for second run.
Richa Ghosh was also out going for a big hit while Deepti Sharma (20 not out off 17 balls) as usual couldn't produce big hits in the end.
Earlier, opener Beth Mooney played a stellar role with a half century, while skipper Meg Lanning hit a 34-ball 49 as Australia scored a challenging 172 for 4 after opting to bat first.
Mooney scored 54 of 37 balls with seven fours and a six while Lanning gave the innings late impetus with four fours and two sixes.
Gardner, WPL's highest paid overseas recruit, smashed 31 off 18 balls with five boundaries while Shikha Pandey took two wickets for India.
Brief Scores:
Australia 172/4 (Beth Mooney 54, Meg Lanning 49, Ashleigh Gardner 31; Shikha Pandey 2/32).
India 167/8 in 20 overs (Harmanpreet Kaur 52, Jemimah Rodrigues 43, Darcie Brown 2/18, Ashleigh Gardner 2/37).
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CPI(M) rallies behind party member on his remarks against Rahul, Priyanka
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): The ruling CPI(M) leaders on Monday rallied behind the party's politburo member A Vijayaraghavan in the raging political row over his controversial remarks on the Lok Sabha poll victories of Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra from Wayanad.
During a recent party event in Wayanad, Vijayaraghavan reportedly claimed that Rahul secured victory in the high-range segment twice with the support of communal forces and that extremist elements were present at Priyanka Gandhi's campaign rallies.
Prominent Marxist party leaders on Monday said that Vijayaraghavan didn't say anything wrong or against the party's policy and they would oppose minority communalism and majority communalism alike.
They also reiterated the charges raised by Vijayaraghavan against the Congress and accused the grand-old party of entering into an unholy nexus with communal outfits for electoral gains.
The CPI(M) leadership came out in support of the politburo member a day after the Congress and their United Democratic Front (UDF) ally, the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), alleged that Vijayaraghavan was attempting to provoke majority communalism in society.
When his reaction was sought by the media, CPI(M) state secretary M V Govindan said what Vijayaraghavan had said was accurate and alleged that communal outfits like SDPI and Jamaat-e-islami were acting like front partners of the UDF.
He charged that their nexus was evident during the recent Palakkad Assembly bypoll.
The criticism against the Jamaat-e-islami was not against the Muslim community and the opposition against the RSS was not against the Hindus, he said, adding that the CPI(M) would not show any compromise in opposing both the minority and majority communalism.
Strongly supporting Vijayaraghavan, senior CPI(M) leader and ruling LDF convenor T P Ramakrishnan said the leader had criticised the stand of the Congress party, which forges a nexus with communal forces during elections.
"Vijayaraghavan has not taken any communal stand. His remarks were also not meant to promote communalism. He has taken a stand that can safeguard society from communal forces," he said.
Senior leader and former minister P K Sreemathi also said Vijayaraghavan had not said anything other than the Marxist party's policy and stand.
Pointing out that communal and extremist forces are gaining strength in the state, she said they cannot be allowed to flourish in Kerala.
"Whoever it is... whether it is Hindu communalism or Muslim extremism, the CPI(M) will take a strong stand against it," she said.
She also accused the Congress of forging ties with communal forces during elections.
On Sunday, Congress leaders accused Vijayaraghavan of making comments against Rahul and Priyanka to "please" the Sangh Parivar, while the IUML alleged that he was attempting to provoke majority communalism in society.
AICC general secretary K C Venugopal strongly criticised Vijayaraghavan, accusing him of using "communal" language that even the Sangh Parivar might hesitate to employ against Rahul. Venugopal also questioned whether the CPI(M) shared the same opinion.
Leader of Opposition, V D Satheesan, echoed similar sentiments, charging the CPI(M) with pushing the same communal agenda propagated by the Sangh Parivar.
Harshly criticising Vijayaraghavan, KPCC chief K Sudhakaran accused the ruling CPI(M) of "surrendering to extreme communalism and providing support to the RSS in the state".
