India lose third T20 International to England despite Suryakumar special
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Nottingham(PTI): Suryakumar Yadav gave a 360 degree masterclass enroute to a special hundred but England pulled off a consolatory 17-run win over India in the third T20 International here on Sunday.
Dawid Malan made a sublime 77 off 39 balls as England put India's second string attack to sword to finish with a mammoth 215 for seven.
Suryakumar (117 off 55 balls) kept India in the hunt with his classy effort but lacked support from other batters while chasing the huge target. India's innings ended at 198 for nine in 20 overs.
India sealed the three-match series 2-1, having won in Southampton and Birmingham. India were on the backfoot at the start of the run chase, struggling to 31 for three in five overs.
Openers Rohit Sharma (11) and Rishabh Pant (1) perished cheaply and it was another failure for Virat Kohli (11), who was caught at cover while trying to manufacture a third consecutive hit after collecting a four and a straight six off David Willey.
Suryakumar brought India back into the game with a 119-run stand with Shreyas Iyer (28 off 23) who was a spectator to his partner's brilliance for the major part of the partnership.
As he often does, Suryakumar toyed with the opposition bowlers and picked his shots all around the ground.
The highlights of his glorious innings was the two lofted square drives off pacers Richard Gleeson and Chrish Jordan that went all the way for six.
He became the fifth Indian to score a hundred in T20 Internationals by opening the face of the bat and guiding a low full toss off Willey between backward point and short third man.
His innings comprised 14 fours and half a dozen sixes.
Suryakumar single-handedly brought the equation down to gettable 66 off 30 balls before running out of partners at the other end.
Earlier, skipper Jos Buttler (18 off 9 balls) and Jason Roy (27 off 26) helped England reach 52 for 1 in six overs. Malan and Liam Livingstone (42 not out off 29) then shared an entertaining 84-run partnership to set the platform for a massive total.
Having already sealed the series, India rested their frontline bowlers in Jasprit Bumrah, in-form Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Yuzvendra Chahal, besides star all-rounder Hardik Pandya.
The Indian next gen were taken to the cleaners by a power-packed England batting lineup which had disappointed in the first two games. Ravi Bishnoi's effort of two for 30 in four overs was the only silver lining in an otherwise ordinary bowling performance.
Buttler punished the inexperienced Umran Malik during his brief stay, collecting two fours and a six off the Indian's opening over that yielded 17 runs.
Avesh Khan foxed Buttler with a slower ball that he played on to the stumps. After Roy was caught behind off Malik, Malan changed gears and played proper cricketing shots that he is known for.
He comfortably swept the spinners for maximums and was quick on the pull and cut against the pacers.
Out of the five sixes, Malan's slog sweep off Ravindra Jadeja over square leg and pick up shot over cow corner off a low full toss from Avesh stood out.
As he often does, Livingstone dealt in sixes as he hit four of them and alongside Harry Brook (19 off) and Chris Jordan (11 off 3) fired England past 200.
Livingstone got a life when he was dropped by Virat Kohli in the deep.
England amassed as many as 129 runs in the last 10 overs.
Malik leaked the most runs for India, ending with figures of one for 56 in four overs.
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No stubble burning now, why air pollution crisis in Delhi: Mann takes dig at BJP
Chandigarh (PTI): Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Monday slammed the BJP saying its leaders used to "defame" Punjab farmers over stubble burning and blame them for Delhi's poor air quality and questioned why is there pollution crisis in national capital despite no farm fires now.
Mann said that as soon as paddy harvest takes place, BJP leaders blame Punjab and its farmers for Delhi's poor air quality.
He said they used to claim that stubble burning by Punjab farmers causes Delhi's pollution.
Mann said at present, the Air Quality Index in major Punjab cities is between 70 and 130.
"At present, Delhi's AQI is between 450 and 500 and no smoke is coming from Punjab. But the situation in Delhi is worse. At least now they should agree that there is no role of Punjab for Delhi's poor air quality," Mann said in a video message.
Mann's remarks came on a day Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa apologised for the air pollution crisis in the national capital and acknowledged its impact on children's health.
Sirsa, however, asserted that it was the result of the policies pursued by the previous Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Delhi.
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Last month, the BJP had trashed the Punjab CM's previous claim that stubble burning in the state has no role in the high levels of air pollution in Delhi as "ridiculous".
Dismissing Mann's claim, Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva had last month said it is certain that stubble burning is a "major" factor (for the air pollution in Delhi).
Meanwhile, Mann in his video message said, due to severe floods which Punjab witnessed this year, paddy harvesting got delayed, "despite this, many Delhi ministers had already started blaming Punjab".
"I want to praise Punjab farmers, NGOs and efforts of the Punjab government have also paid off in controlling stubble burning this time. The cases of stubble burning in Punjab have reduced by 70-80 per cent and this has been acknowledged by the Central Government and the Union Agriculture Minister," Mann said.
The CM further said that after paddy harvest even the wheat crop has been sown and now, there is no incident of stubble burning.
He said BJP leaders used to claim that Punjab's smoke from stubble travels to Delhi.
"Now, there is no stubble burning, but Delhi is facing very poor air quality. This proves that earlier too Punjab's smoke had no role for Delhi's poor air quality. Only accusations were made by the BJP to defame Punjab. At least now the Centre should praise the farmers of Punjab," he said.
"Meanwhile, Delhi's AQI is between 450 and 500, flights are being cancelled, and breathing has become difficult," said Mann.
He asked both the BJP government in Delhi and the BJP led Centre to address Delhi's air pollution, saying citizens cannot even venture out for a walk due to air pollution.
He also asked the BJP that Punjab should not be dragged into this political battle, instead, Punjab's farmers should be appreciated, and the Delhi and Central governments should focus on addressing Delhi's air pollution.
Mann further said that farmers of Punjab are 'anndatas' (food providers) and they meet the country's food needs, they should not be defamed.
