India coast to seven-wicket win over spirted Ireland
Malahide(PTI): Ireland put up a spirted fight but India proved too strong for the home team to win the rain-hit opening T20I by seven wickets here on Sunday.
Harry Tector's counter-attacking 64 not out off 33 balls took Ireland to 108 for four after the rain reduced the game to 12 overs a side.
India were always ahead of the run rate in the chase and with contributions from Ishan Kishan (26 off 11), Deepak Hooda (47 not out off 29) and skipper Hardik Pandya (24 off 12), cruised to victory in 9.2 overs.
Kishan continued his good form to get India off to a quick start. The first over of the innings went for 15 runs as Kishan collected couple of fours and a six off Joshua Little.
In a rather surprising move, Deepak Hooda came to open alongside Kishan in place of Ruturaj Gaikwad. He found his rhythm after a scratchy start and put up a match winning 64-run stand with Hardik.
Just when it seemed Indian were running away with the contest, Craig Young got rid of Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav (0) in successive deliveries to raise hopes for his team.
Kishan's stumps were rattled in another attempt to get a full ball out of the park. Returning to the side after an injury break, Suryakumar got a beauty first up that seamed back to trap him in front of the stumps.
However, Hardik and Hooda kept going for their strokes and a 21-run over from Andy Mcbrine put India back in control.
While Hardik departed after hitting three sixes, Hooda stayed till the end to hit the winning four. His innings comprised two sixes and half a dozen boundaries.
Earlier, India opted to bowl in overcast conditions but soon after the rain arrived, delaying the start of play by more than two hours and 20 minutes.
The conditions were ripe for Bhuvneshwar Kumar to make the ball talk and he did just that in the opening over of the match.
The wily operator got the ball to swing both ways before an inswinger breached the defence of Ireland skipper Andrew Balbirnie. Skipper Hardik Pandya got himself into the attack in the second over and took two balls to dismiss the dangerous Paul Stirling.
After hitting the first ball over cover, Stirling went for the same shot but mistimed to be caught at mid off. Avesh Khan then had Gareth Delany caught behind in his first over to leave Ireland at 22 for three.
India were expected to run through the opposition but Ireland staged a spirited recovery through Tector, who went for the offensive against the Indian pacers, including debutant Umran Malik.
All eyes were on the Indian pace sensation but he had a rather nervous start to his international career.
He dragged his third ball down the leg side and it raced to the boundary off Lorcan Tucker's (18 off 16) pads. Two balls later, Tector played a beautiful straight drive off a full delivery. Malik dragged the next one short but Hector was ready to pull it for a six.
Tucker smashed two successive sixes off Hardik to give further impetus to the innings.
The last over of the innings yielded 17 runs and pushed the total past 100 with Tector collecting a boundary from a reverse hit off Avesh before smashing a full toss for six over deep cover.
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Strictest action promised after students forced to remove sacred thread at Bengaluru CET exam centre
Bengaluru (PTI): Bengaluru Urban Deputy Commissioner Jagadeesha G on Monday said the government has decided to take the “strictest possible action” against those responsible for allegedly forcing some students to remove their ‘janivara’ (sacred thread) before entering the venue of the CET exam last week.
He said a committee of senior officials constituted to inquire into the incident reported that, prima facie, it appears the students were “intentionally” made to remove the ‘janivara’.
The city police have already booked three staff members of a private college in Bengaluru for allegedly forcing some students to remove their ‘janivara’ before entering the venue of the Common Entrance Test (CET-2026) last week.
Similar incidents last year in Shivamogga and Bidar had triggered controversy, following which the Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA) issued clear directions not to force students to remove any religious identification or symbol during exams.
“Despite KEA taking measures such as appointing dress code officials and providing training on dos and don’ts to prevent such incidents from recurring after last year’s cases, there has been a dereliction of duty this time,” Jagadeesha told reporters here.
“To take strict action against those responsible, an FIR has been registered, and arrests have been made. An inquiry has been conducted by senior officials, and those responsible have been suspended,” he added.
Stating that the inquiry report has been submitted at the district level, he said it will be forwarded to the government.
Based on the findings, it has also been decided that KEA will not conduct CET exams at the institution where the incident occurred, he added.
“The strictest possible action is being taken by the district administration and the government,” he added.
The deputy commissioner had constituted a committee headed by the additional deputy commissioner to investigate the incident and submit a report within two days.
“Exams have been held at several centres across the state, and nowhere else has this issue occurred. If students were forced to remove ‘janivara’ at this centre, it appears that it was intentional. We have taken it seriously,” he said, adding that strict action has been recommended to ensure such incidents do not recur.
Noting that senior officials were appointed for the inquiry, the DC said that after a thorough investigation and verification—which included statements from students, the school principal, exam observers, CCTV footage, and documents—it prima facie appears that students were intentionally made to remove the ‘janivara’.
“We are recommending strict action. The government has also ordered a detailed police investigation, and an FIR has been registered in connection with the incident,” he added.
