England succumb to Kuldeep's heroics
Nottngham, July 12 : Kuldeep Yadav's (6/25) heroic bowling effort restricted England at a moderate 268 runs in the first match of the three ODI series at Tent Bridge here on Thursday.
Despite a deep batting line-up, the hosts' sucumbbed before Kuldeep, who emerged with his best ODI figures at a batting-friendly Nottingham wicket.
It was Ben Stokes (50) and Jos Buttler (53), who showed some resistence against the visiting bowling attack to push their side to a fighting total.
Put into bat, England was off to a decent start as openers Jason Roy (38) and Jonny Bairstow (38) forged a 73-run partnership for the opening wicket before Kuldeep drew the first blood, dismissing the former in the 11th over.
With just eight runs added on England's scorecard, Kuldeep struck again to pack back incoming Joe Root (3).
The wrist-spinner made worsened England's situation when he sent back opener Bairstow, who was caught before the wicket, leaving the hosts reeling at 82/3.
Skipper Eoin Morgan then tried to nurse their inning with Ben Stokes before he became a victim of Yuzvendra Chahal in the 20th over leaving the hosts at 105/4.
Stokes and Buttler then forged a 93-run stand to inch England near the 200-run mark before Kuldeep shot another bullet in oppostion's line-up. The spinner scalped his fourth victim as he dismissed Buttler with England's scorecard readng 198/5.
As England managed to another 16 runs to their score, Kuldeep gave another jolt to the hosts after sending back Stokes in the 45th over.
There was no stopping for Kuldeep at a batting paradise Tent Bridge wicket on Thursday as he pounced his another wicket in the same over when David Willey was back to the dressing room after contributing a single run.
Before falling down to Umesh Yadav, Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid, chipped in with 24 and 22 runs while Liam Plunkett respectively while Liam Plunkett contributed with 10 runs to take their side to a competitive total.
Apart from Kuldeep, Umesh bagged couple of wickets leaking 70 runs from his 9.5 overs.
Brief Scores: England 268 all out in 49.5 overs (Jos Buttler 53, Ben Stokes 50; Kuldeep Yadav 6/25)
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Mamata calls incoming Bengal Guv R N Ravi 'BJP cadre', alleges Bose was forced out
Kolkata (PTI): West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday alleged that incoming Governor R N Ravi is a "BJP cadre" and claimed that the sudden exit of C V Ananda Bose from Lok Bhavan was the result of pressure from the Centre.
Addressing supporters at her ongoing dharna against deletions in voter rolls, Banerjee accused the BJP-led central government of attempting to convert Lok Bhavan into a political outpost in the run-up to the assembly elections in the state.
"Have you seen how C V Ananda Bose was removed? I know everything. He was threatened. They want to distribute money from Lok Bhavan. They want Lok Bhavan to be converted into a BJP party office. But everybody may not agree to such whims and fancies of Delhi," she alleged.
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Without citing specific instances, the Trinamool Congress supremo also took a swipe at Ravi's tenure in Tamil Nadu, claiming that the governor had faced "many comments" from the Supreme Court.
"The person who is coming to West Bengal now, I heard that he had to face many comments from the Supreme Court. He is a cadre of the BJP. But remember, West Bengal is a different place. You may have done whatever you wanted in Tamil Nadu, but here you can't do that," Banerjee said.
Escalating her attack on the BJP-led Centre, the chief minister accused it of undermining constitutional institutions and not allowing governors to complete their tenures.
"The Centre is not letting anyone finish their term. You did the same thing with Jagdeep Dhankhar," she said, referring to the former West Bengal governor who later became vice president.
Banerjee said those ruling at the Centre were behaving "worse than Muhammad bin Tughlaq", invoking a phrase often used in the Indian political discourse to describe arbitrary or whimsical governance decisions.
"If you try to threaten us, we will ensure the fall of the BJP government at the Centre," she said.
Banerjee's remarks come amid a fresh political storm triggered by Bose's sudden resignation earlier this week, just days before the Election Commission is expected to announce the schedule for the West Bengal assembly polls.
In a dramatic development on Thursday evening, Bose stepped down from his post in New Delhi, setting off intense political speculation in the state.
Soon after the resignation, Banerjee said Union Home Minister Amit Shah had informed her that Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi would take over as the governor of West Bengal.
Ravi, however, is yet to assume charge.
The developments have added fuel to the already tense political climate in the state, where the Trinamool Congress and the BJP are locked in a fierce battle ahead of the assembly elections, with the Lok Bhavan often emerging as a flashpoint during Banerjee's confrontations with the Centre.
Banerjee's latest remarks also signal a renewed attempt by the ruling TMC to frame the upcoming polls as a fight to "protect West Bengal's autonomy" from what it calls interference by the BJP-led central government, a narrative the party has repeatedly deployed in past electoral contests.
