Australia set India 162-run target in CWG final
Birmingham, Aug 7: Beth Mooney struck a fine half-century as the Australian women's cricket team managed to reach 161 for 8 despite a spirited fielding effort from India in the Commonwealth Games final at Edgbaston here on Sunday.
Australia opted to bat on a bright and sunny afternoon with a packed house witnessing the title clash of the first ever women's cricket competition in CWG history.
Renuka Singh, the stand-out pacer for India in this tournament, once again provided an early breakthrough by trapping the dangerous Alyssa Healy leg before with a delivery that moved in a shade.
The Indians went for the DRS in the last second and it was successful.
Mooney (61 off 41)and skipper Meg Lanning (36 off 26) then stitched a 78-run stand and once again it seemed Australia would bat India out of the game like they had done in the T20 World Cup final couple of years ago.
Lanning made her intent clear as she dispatched a length ball off Renuka over mid off for the first six of the match.
The Indian fielders who are often criticised had a fine day in the middle. It started with a close run out of Lanning and included two fine catches from Deepti Sharma and Radha Yadav.
Deepti plucked one off the right hand to get rid of a well set Mooney while Radha took a low diving catch at backward point to dismiss Tahlia McGrath, who played the game despite testing positive for COVID-19.
Australia looked set for a 180 plus total but India fought back in the last five overs taking five wickets for 35 runs.
Renuka ended with tidy figures of 2 for 25 in four overs while fellow pacer Meghna Singh was underbowled as India used seven bowling options.
Sneh Rana (2/38) was the most expensive bowler who bowled their full quota but took two crucial wickets of Mooney and Ashleigh Gardner.
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.
Face of unity: Muslim-dominated Haryana panchayat elects Hindu woman as sarpanch
Gurugram, Apr 5 (PTI): The Muslim-dominated Siroli village in Haryana's Nuh district has elected its sole Hindu panchayat member as the sarpanch, an officer here said.
Thirty-year-old Nisha Chauhan was elected as Siroli sarpanch on April 2.
According to a senior panchayat officer, Siroli panchayat under the Punahana block has 15 members, of which 14 are Muslims and eight are women. The post of Siroli sarpanch is reserved for women.
Only 250 out of the 3,296 voters in the village are Hindus.
According to panchayat officer Nasim, the panchayat election was held in December 2022. However, the winning candidate, Sahana, was sacked some months later after her education certificates were found to be fake.
The newly elected sarpanch said that her victory is a symbol of Hindu-Muslim unity.
"My village is Muslim-dominated but the old tradition of Hindu-Muslim brotherhood still exists there. In true sense, there is no religious discrimination in the Mewat area, a living example of which is my election as sarpanch. My victory is a message of communal brotherhood in the entire area," said Chauhan.
Former Siroli sarpanch and a current ward member, Ashraf, said the panchs have chosen Chauhan in the hope for better administration.
"Here Hindus and Muslims are in harmony. We fully participate in each other's happiness and sorrow," Ashraf said.
