England seal series 2-0 after India suffer stunning batting collapse in 2nd women's T20I
Mumbai, Dec 9: Indian batting looked clueless and out of depth to be dismissed for their third lowest total as England notched up a four-wicket win in the second women's T20I to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series here on Saturday.
On a day uncapped Indian cricketers won fat pay-cheques in the Women's Premier League (WPL) auction, Shafali Verma (0), Smriti Mandhana (10), skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (9), Deepti Sharma (0) cut a sorry figure as India were shot out for 80 in 16.2 overs.
In reply, England cantered home in 11.2 overs to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.
The final T20I is slated on Sunday.
In defence of their paltry 80, India had a horror start with a wayward Renuka Singh leaking eight runs in four wide deliveries.
Sophia Dunkley then took the attack on inexperienced Bengal seamer Titas Sidhu with two boundaries as England raced to 17 runs in first two overs.
Renuka returned to take two wickets -- Sophia (9) and Danni Wyatt (0) -- but with no scoreboard pressure Alice Capsey (25; 21b) and Nat Sciver-Brunt (16; 13b) seized the momentum with their counter-attacking display to take them past 50-run mark inside seven overs.
But the duo failed to take the team home as India managed to take two wickets with seven runs needed.
Deepti sharma took two in as many deliveries -- Amy Jones and Freya Kemp -- but it didn't matter as Sophie Ecclestone (9) clinched the series with a four.
Their match aggregate of 162 runs was also the lowest involving the two teams.
For India, Jemimah Rodrigues was the lone bright spot with a 33-ball 30, and one of the two batters to get into double digit scores, in a bizarre display by the Indian batters.
That all their top-four batters got out LBW showed their lack of application on a batting-friendly wicket at the Wankhede stadium.
This was India's third lowest total in women's T20I behind 62 (vs Australia, 2011) and 70 (vs South Africa, 2019).
Batting at No 3, Jemimah saw wickets falling around her as she had no option but to accelerate.
She looked in fine touch, hitting back-to-back boundaries with some crisp sweep shots but only to be dismissed in the same over with Sarah Glenn trapping her LBW.
It was a clinical display by England as all their six bowlers returned with at least one wicket.
Charlie Dean (4-0-16-2), Lauren Bell (3-0-18-2), Sophie Ecclestone (3.2-0-13-2) and Sarah Glenn (3-1-13-2) bagged two wickets each.
Ecclestone, who took a stunning left-handed return catch to dismiss Richa Ghosh (4), gave the final blow when she pushed one through Saika Ishaque's defence to bring curtains on Indian innings.
This was the third lowest target set by India against England.
Opting to bowl, Heather Knight straightway started off with spin as Charlotte Dean inflicted a double blow in successive overs (2-0-4-2) to give England a perfect start.
The off-spinner fired a straighter one in and Shafali looked to work it towards leg but completely missed and was trapped in front to be dismissed for a two-ball duck.
Going with a change of ends, Dean this time dismissed Smriti Mandhana (10) LBW after being hit on her back pad.
Harmanpreet looked to attack and paddled away Sciver-Brunt for successive fours but the England seamer had the last laugh and had the Indian skipper plumb with a delivery that jagged back in.
Sophie then pulled off an absolute blinder of a return catch to dismiss Richa Ghosh for four as India found themselves in deep trouble with half of their side back in pavillion for 37.
One-up in the three-match series, England need a win to seal the series.
India lost by 38 runs in the first T20I.
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Noida International Airport appoints Nitu Samra as interim CEO
New Delhi (PTI): Noida International Airport on Friday announced the appointment of its Chief Financial Officer Nitu Samra as the interim Chief Executive Officer after authorities denied permission for foreign national Christoph Schnellmann to be at the helm.
"This change follows directions issued by the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) that the Chief Executive Officer of an airport in India is required to be an Indian national," NIA said in a statement.
Samra will replace Schnellmann, a Swiss national who has led Noida International Airport (NIA) as the CEO since August 2020.
The regulatory issue related to the requirement of having an Indian national as CEO has been delaying the start of commercial operations of the airport, which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 28.
Schnellmann will join the airport's Board of Directors as Executive Vice Chairman. In this role, he will continue to support the project and its transition to operations, the statement said.
With immediate effect, NIA said Samra has been appointed as the CEO on an interim basis until the Board of Directors can conclude a formal selection process.
Samra has been serving as the CFO since October 2021 and was closely involved in the airport’s development journey, overseeing financial stewardship, governance, and strategic planning during a key phase of the project, the statement added.
NIA will be operated by Yamuna International Airport Pvt Ltd (YIAPL), a subsidiary of Zurich Airport International AG, under a public-private partnership.
Originally scheduled to commence passenger services in September 2024, NIA is being developed in four phases, along with a dedicated cargo terminal. It received an aerodrome license from the aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) in March.
YIAPL Chairman Daniel Bircher said that since the inauguration of the airport by the Prime Minister, the goal was to enable the start of operations as early as possible.
"This management change brings the airport into compliance with Bureau of Civil Aviation Security requirements while maintaining continuity in the airport’s leadership team. The newly structured team will support a smooth transition into operations, guided by clear and transparent governance and a strong corporate culture," he said.
On March 28, Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu said commercial flight operations from the airport would start in the next 45 to 60 days.
Among the largest greenfield airport projects in the country, NIA will initially have a capacity to handle 12 million passengers per annum.
Once fully developed, the airport will have a total passenger handling capacity of 70 million.
The first phase of NIA has been developed at an investment of around Rs 11,200 crore. 'DXN' is the code for the airport.
The airport features a 3,900-metre runway capable of handling wide-body aircraft, along with modern navigation systems, including Instrument Landing System (ILS) and advanced airfield lighting.
The peak handling capacity in the first phase will be 30 flights per hour.
In the first phase, there will be 28 aircraft stands, and the projected cargo capacity is around 2.5 lakh tonnes.
Terminal 1 of the airport is spread across 1,37,985 square metres with 48 check-in counters. Over 40 acres of land have been earmarked for developing MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul) facilities at the airport.
