Disciplined England restrict India to 256/8 in series decider
Leeds, July 17: Leg-spinner Adil Rashid's triple strikes in the middle overs helped England restrict India for a below par 256/8 in the series-deciding third and final One-day International (ODI) at the Headingley cricket ground here on Tuesday.
Put in to bat, India rode on captain Virat Kohli's run-a-ball 71, combined with his predecessor Mahendra Singh Dhoni's laborious 66-ball 42 and a valuable 44 from opener Shikhar Dhawan even as Rashid applied the brakes to return figures of 3/49 off his 10 overs.
India were in trouble early on, losing in-form opener Rohit Sharma for a sluggish 18-ball 2, before Dhawan and Kohli forged a 71-run second wicket stand to inject life back into the innings.
With the right-left duo of Kohli and Dhawan going all guns blazing, all-rounder Ben Stokes brought the hosts back into the game with the run-out of Dhawan, who by then had faced 49 balls and struck seven fours.
The southpaw's dismissal brought in stumper Dinesh Karthik for his first game on the tour. Karthik started off well with a boundary before picking two more on his way to a quickfire 22-ball 21 but an inside edge off a tossed up delivery from Rashid ended his stay and also the 41-run third wicket stand.
Despite losing his partners at the other end, Kohli kept his cool to raise his 48th ODI half century with a boundary off pacer Liam Plunkett and thereafter began switching gears even as Suresh Raina (1) joined him in the middle.
However, Rashid and his fellow spinner Moeen Ali managed to keep the run flow in check, which prompted both the Indian batsmen to take risks and in the process the leggie bamboozled the India skipper with a ripper which broke through his defences before Raina too departed off the same over, thanks to a brilliant catch by Joe Root at leg slip.
With India in deep trouble, Dhoni once again came to the rescue with a hard working innings, and together with all-rounder Hardik Pandya (21 off 21 balls), raised a 36-run stand for the sixth wicket before adding another 27 runs with Bhuvneshwar Kumar (21 off 35) to stretch the total to some sort of respectability.
Towards the end, pacer Shardul Thakur produced a brilliant cameo of 13-ball unbeaten 22, that saw him launch Stokes for two sixes in the penultimate over as India's total crossed the 250-run mark.
For England, besides Rashid's three wickets, pacer David Willey also returned figures of 3/40 while fellow quick Mark Wood took one wicket.
Brief Scores: India (Virat Kohli 71, Shikhar Dhawan 44, M.S.Dhoni 42; David Willey 3/40, Adil Rashid 3/49) vs England.
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Centre 'mortgaged' foreign policy to US, says Minister Priyank Kharge
Kalaburagi (Karnataka) (PTI): Karnataka minister Priyank Kharge on Saturday flayed the foreign policy of the union government, alleging that India’s global standing was being "compromised" and the Centre had "failed" to respond firmly to remarks by senior US officials on India’s economic and energy policies.
Addressing a press conference in Kalaburagi, Kharge also questioned the "silence" of BJP leaders over the issue and accused them of "focusing on attacking opposition leaders" rather than defending the country’s dignity.
“The Central Government should have at least a little shame. They have practically mortgaged our entire foreign policy to the United States. Today our dignity is being valued at almost nothing,” Kharge, who is son of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, said.
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Referring to remarks reportedly made by US Deputy Secretary Christopher Landau in Delhi, the minister said the comments indicated how foreign governments were openly discussing India’s economic trajectory.
“Yesterday you might have seen — a US Deputy Secretary said in Delhi, not in America but in Delhi, that they (US) will not repeat in India the mistake they made with China, 'we will not allow India to grow',” he said.
Kharge cited comments by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent regarding crude oil imports from Russia amid the ongoing war.
“Yesterday, the US Secretary of the Treasury said because of the war they (US) have given India a 30-day permission to purchase crude oil from Russia.’ Permission!” he said, questioning why the Union government had not strongly responded to such statements.
The minister also questioned the Centre over energy policy and fuel supplies, saying there were conflicting claims on India’s oil reserves.
He also criticised the silence of Union ministers, including Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri.
“In Parliament they said we have reserves for 75 days. But oil companies say in press conferences that we have only 25 days. How is that?” he asked.
Targeting BJP leaders from Karnataka, including Union minister Pralhad Joshi, Kharge alleged they were quick to comment on the state government but avoided speaking on issues affecting national dignity.
He also slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s foreign policy approach, comparing it with earlier Congress governments.
Recalling an instance involving former US secretary of state Hillary Clinton, he said, "She once said she was trying to determine whether India could buy oil from Iran. The then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh clearly told her: ‘That decision is within my jurisdiction, not yours. I will decide, not you."
He added that former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had similarly asserted India’s independent foreign policy in her dealings with then US President Richard Nixon.
Kharge also accused the BJP and RSS of practising what he described as "selective nationalism", and issuing “patriotism certificates” to others while remaining silent on issues concerning India’s global standing.
He further said the public debate should focus on pressing economic and diplomatic issues rather than personal attacks on opposition leaders such as Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi and Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
