ICC World Cup: Boult, Santner help New Zealand bowl out Sri Lanka for 171
Bengaluru, Nov 9: Trent Boult rediscovered his magic with the new ball and Mitchell Santner skilfully exploited the slight grip on offer as New Zealand bundled out Sri Lanka for 171 in their crucial World Cup match here on Thursday.
Having logged eight points, the Kiwis need to win their last league match against the Lankans to stay alive in the race to join India, South Africa and Australia in the semifinals.
Accordingly, they produced a forceful effort through left-arm pacer Boult (3/37) and left-arm spinner Santner (2/22) after electing to field.
Opener Kusal Perera, who was dropped on 1 by stumper Tom Latham off Tim Southee, made a belligerent 51 off 28 balls, a mere footnote in an otherwise shambolic batting effort.
Boult, however, owned the noon in his inimitable fashion.
The 35-year-old was struggling for his rhythm in the last couple of matches, but he revealed his true colours with a bit of nip in the air, jagging the ball around.
After Southee jettisoned Pathum Nissanka, Boult dismissed Lankan captain Kusal Mendis, whose mistimed pull ended with Rachin Ravindra near square leg, in the first ball of the fifth over.
Three balls later, Boult angled one across in-form Sadeera Samarawickrama, and the indecisive right-hander nibbled it to Latham.
A couple of overs later, Boult trapped Charith Asalanka in front of the wicket with one that came wee bit in to reduce Lanka to 70 for four.
Angelo Matthews and Dhananjaya de Silva could not negate Santner's accuracy and the deliveries that spun away from them, perishing cheaply, effectively signalling the end of the Lankan fight.
However, while the Lankan castle was crumbling around him Perera played a gem of an innings.
Perera's batting is so reminiscent of his idol Sanath Jayasuriya short back-lift and a woodcutter's forearms sending the ball miles away.
But Perera had not made the kind of impact expected of him, making just one fifty against Australia in the tournament and failing to reach double digits in five other innings prior to this day.
However, the left-hander, who was dropped on 1 by stumper Tom Latham off Tim Southee, was in his element here and creamed Kiwis bowlers around the park.
Perera made Southee suffer as well. He extracted 18 runs off the pacer's third over, innings' sixth, through a sequence of 6, 4, 4, 4, 4.
The pick-up six off his legs over long-on and the drive past the point fielder were the standout shots in that series.
Perera soon reached his 17th ODI fifty, second of this tournament, with another cracking cover drive off returning pacer Lockie Ferguson.
But the fun ended soon as Ferguson had the last laugh an attempted loft over the covers ended in the hands of Santner.
Ferguson, who pinged Maheesh Theekshana on his arm, returned to rattle the late-order batsmen with his high pace, to add a couple of more wickets.
Theekshana and Dilshan Madhushanke added 43 runs for the final wicket, the highest in the Lankan essay, but they ended up with a vastly under-par total.
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Kolhapur’s Saee Jadhav becomes first woman Territorial Army officer to pass out of IMA
Pune (PTI): Saee Jadhav from Maharashtra’s Kolhapur has become the first woman Territorial Army officer to complete pre-commissioning training at the Indian Military Academy (IMA), Dehradun, breaking the institution’s 93-year-old tradition of male-only officer training.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis congratulated her and said her achievement is an inspiring milestone that gives direction to the dreams of countless young girls across the country.
Jadhav, 23, was commissioned as a Lieutenant during the Passing Out Parade of the 157th course held last week, marking a historic milestone for the IMA, which was established in 1932 and has since produced generations of Army officers.
She was commissioned into the services on December 13 during the commissioning ceremony at IMA, Dehradun.
Speaking to PTI, Saee’s father Sandip Jadhav, a serving major with the Territorial Army, said that Saee has been commissioned into the 130 Territorial Army (ecological ) battalion of Kumaon Regiment at Pithoragarh in Uttarakhand.
Saee is currently pursuing her MBA through distance learning, he said.
“While pursuing her MBA, she was also preparing for competitive exams and TA (Territorial Army). She appeared for the exam in December 2023. There was only one vacancy for a woman officer in TA and since her rank was at the top in merit, she was selected,” said Major Jadhav.
“She is now commissioned into 130 Infantry Battalion (TA) of Kumaon Regiment at Pithoragarh in Uttarakhand,” he said.
Jadhav said her daughter was inclined to join the armed forces, given the family’s armed forces background. “As parents, we feel proud that our daughter followed her dream and chose to serve the nation,” he added.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis also congratulated “Marathi Mulgi” Saee.
“She has created history by becoming first woman officer cadet to pass out of IMA in 93 years… It is a matter of immense pride that this honour has gone to a Marathi Mulgi!,” he wrote in a post on X.
“This is not just an individual success story, but an inspiring milestone that gives direction to the dreams of countless young girls across the country. Educated and brought up in Belgaum and originally from Kolhapur, Sai represents the 4th generation of the Jadhav family to carry forward the legacy of service to the nation,” he added.
