England beat big rival Australia by 2 runs in T20 thriller
Southampton: England beat great rival Australia by two runs in a Twenty20 thriller that went down to the final ball to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series here.
Chasing 163 to win at the empty Rose Bowl on Friday, Australia collapsed from 124-1 after 14 overs to fall short on 160-6 in its first match of international cricket in six months because of the coronavirus pandemic.
After losing four wickets for nine runs off 14 balls, the Australians needed 26 runs off the final three overs, 19 off the final two and then 15 off the last, bowled by Tom Curran.
Marcus Stoinis hit a huge six over cover off the second ball to leave the tourists needing nine runs off four, but couldn't hit another boundary.
Australia was handed a brilliant start to the chase as captain Aaron Finch (46) and David Warner (58) shared a 98-run opening stand. Things started going downhill, though, after the loss of Steven Smith for 18 to make it 124-2 and Glenn Maxwell four balls later for 1, both falling to the spin of Adil Rashid.
"We knew England would keep coming hard," Finch said, "and we probably struggled to find the boundary in that 12- to 18-over mark. That's something to work on."
England eked out a total of 162-7 mainly thanks to Dawid Malan (66) and Jos Buttler (44). No other player reached double-figures, with Kane Richardson having figures of 2-13 and Maxwell getting 2-14.
"I thought we were 15 runs light," Malan said, "probably one partnership away from getting to 175-180."
It was the first time England has defended a target under 180 since 2016.
The top-ranked Australians hadn't played since mid-March when their scheduled ODI series against New Zealand was abandoned. England can wrap up the series by winning the second match back at the Rose Bowl on Sunday.
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BJP MLA seen wiping face with flag during Tiranga Yatra in Jaipur, Congress slams act
Jaipur, May 15 (PTI): A BJP legislator was seen wiping his face with the national flag during a Tiranga Yatra held in Jaipur on Thursday, drawing sharp criticism from the opposition Congress, which termed the act "disrespectful".
The incident took place during the march taken out in honour of the Indian armed forces following the success of Operation Sindoor.
Balmukund Acharya, the MLA from Hawa Mahal assembly constituency, was seen using the tricolour to wipe his face as the rally passed through crowded markets and historic locations in the city.
A video of the act surfaced on social media, prompting criticism from Congress leaders, who accused the BJP of politicising patriotism while showing "utter disregard" for national symbols.
However, after realising his mistake, the MLA almost immediately switched to a regular piece of cloth to clean his face. Nevertheless, the moment has already drawn attention.
Reacting to the video, Congress leaders said on X, "Such behaviour during a rally meant to honour the Army and the national flag was 'insensitive' and 'disrespectful'."
There was no immediate comment from the BJP on the matter.
The Tiranga Yatra, which began from Albert Hall and concluded at Badi Chaupad, witnessed participation from Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma, Deputy CM Diya Kumari, BJP state president Madan Rathore and several senior party leaders.
तिरंगे का अपमान — शर्मनाक दृश्य!
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क्या यही है राष्ट्रभक्ति का चेहरा?#TirangaKaApmaan #BJPMLA #BalmukundAcharya #RespectTheFlag #NationalFlagAct #Shameful #RahulGandhi #RajnathSingh pic.twitter.com/8K3eL8oEwX
