India lose to New Zealand by 8 wickets
Dubai, Oct 31: India's superstar cricketers were pummelled on a second-straight Sunday as a disciplined New Zealand firmly pushed them towards the exit door with an easy eight-wicket victory in the ICC T20 World Cup here.
The defeat that puts India in serious danger of losing out on a semi-final berth also raises questions about outgoing T20 skipper Virat Kohli's abject failure to win an ICC tournament in four attempts as captain.
While Kohli is set to step down from T20 captaincy, this defeat puts his ODI leadership future also in doubt.
If Pakistan match was a humiliating experience, the encounter against New Zealand was embarrassing to say the least as a meagre target of 111 was chased down by Daryl Mitchell (49 off 35 balls) and skipper Kane Williamson (33 not out off 31 balls) in only 14.3 overs.
This was after India managed 110 for 7 in 20 overs in which they didn't effectively score runs in nine of those overs (54 dot balls). Worse, they were just able to hit a single boundary between overs 8 and 15 when two spinners were in operation.
The equation for India now gets muddled up and only Afghanistan's victory over New Zealand can raise hopes of an outside chance to qualify for the semi-finals.
That too if they win all their remaining matches against Afghanistan, Namibia and Scotland.
But for all practical purposes, Kohli's team, with its archaic version of T20 cricket, does not deserve a place in the last four.
New Zealand exposed the outfit's inadequacies, mostly poor mindset and atrocious shot selection, something that was exploited to the hilt by Pakistan just a week back.
Post World T20, a lot of senior players may not be seen playing the shortest format as the one thing that this team swears by -- playing fearless cricket -- was nowhere to be seen.
It seemed like catching practice for the New Zealand team as most of the batters were out in the deep trying to force the pace and failing miserably. There were 54 dot balls, which meant that India didn't score any runs in nine of their 20 overs.
There were no demons in the track and India's shoddy show with the willow was a consequence of poor team selection, not relying on form players and the failure to have any flexibility in the side, which lacked proper multi-skilled cricketers.
And true to 'Murphy's Law' that "anything that can go wrong will go wrong at the worst possible time", the team simply fell apart.
For example, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli both lost form at the same time. The middle-order, which was a worry, remained so and Hardik Pandya as a batter completely flopped on big days.
He did bowl an over but one didn't need to be an expert to understand that he is far from being bowling fit.
But the biggest of them all was how a country, whose players are considered masters of spin bowling, looked clueless against the slow stuff.
Just like the Pakistan game, the spinners -- left-arm orthodox Mitchell Santner (4-0-15-0) and leg-spinner Ish Sodhi (4-0-17-2) -- caught India by the scruff of their necks, giving away only 32 runs in eight overs.
India tweaked their batting order but it hardly paid any dividends as there was no firepower in the power play and 40 for 3 in eight overs could have only spelt doom.
Ishan Kishan tried to whip one off Trent Boult (4-0-20-3) but was caught at deep square leg boundary by Santner.
KL Rahul (18) hit a couple of boundaries but not for a moment during his 16-ball stay at the crease, did he look confident enough to take on the bowlers.
Tim Southee (4-0-26-1), at the stroke of power play, exposed Rahul's problems against short ball as the pull-shot was collected by Santner, who got his second of the night.
Rohit Sharma (14) was gone when Ish Sodhi pitched one slightly on the shorter length, he tried to pull it in front of square but was caught by a tumbling Martin Guptill, who judged it well enough to make it 40 for three.
Kohli, who of late, is playing the role of an anchor, never got going and during his laboured presence at the wicket, only increased the pressure on the team.
Sodhi tossed one conventional leg-break outside the off-stump and the Indian captain, trying to hit against the turn, could only find Boult at the long-on boundary.
Pandya (23 off 24 balls), in his current form, is not a threat for any team and Rishabh Pant, after being kept quiet by the two Black Caps spinners, got one fast and straight from Milne, which breached his defence.
Once Pant was gone, any chance of winning the game was also thrown out of the Dubai International Stadium, and deep into the Arabian Sea.
Brief scores:
India: 110/7 in 20 overs (Ravindra Jadeja 26 not out; Trent Boult 3/20, Ish Sodhi 2/17).
New Zealand: 111/2 in 14.3 overs (Daryl Mitchell 49; Jasprit Bumrah 2/19).
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Impeached South Korean president to appear in court hearing to argue against his arrest
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Seoul (AP): South Korea's impeached president will appear at a hearing in a Seoul court on Saturday to oppose a formal arrest over last month's imposition of martial law, his lawyers said.
Yoon Suk Yeol, who has been in detention since he was apprehended on Wednesday in a massive law enforcement operation at his residence, faces potential rebellion charges linked to his declaration of martial law on Dec. 3, which set off the country's most serious political crisis since its democratization in the late 1980s.
The Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials, which is leading a joint investigation with police and the military, requested the Seoul Western District Court to grant a warrant for Yoon's formal arrest.
Yoon is expected to argue that there's no need for him to be in custody during an investigation at a hearing set for 2 pm this afternoon. The judge is anticipated to make a decision by late Saturday or early Sunday.
After meeting Yoon at the detention center, Yoon Kab-keun, one of the president's lawyers, said in a text message that Yoon had his legal team's advice to appear personally before the judge. The president plans to argue that his decree was a legitimate exercise of his powers and that accusations of rebellion would not hold up before a criminal court or the Constitutional Court, which is reviewing whether to formally remove him from office or reinstate him, his lawyer said.
Hundreds of supporters rallied overnight at the court, calling for Yoon's release.
If Yoon is arrested, investigators can extend his detention to 20 days, during which they will transfer the case to public prosecutors for indictment. If the court rejects the investigators' request, Yoon will be released and return to his residence.
Nine people, including Yoon's defense minister, police chief, and several top military commanders, have already been arrested and indicted for their roles in the enforcement of martial law.
The crisis began when Yoon, in an attempt to break through legislative gridlock, imposed military rule and sent troops to the National Assembly and election offices. The standoff lasted only hours after lawmakers who managed to get through a blockade voted to lift the measure. The opposition-dominated assembly voted to impeach him on Dec. 14.
If Yoon is formally arrested, it could mark the beginning of an extended period in custody for him, lasting months or more.
If prosecutors indict Yoon on rebellion and abuse of power charges, which are the allegations now being examined by investigators, they could keep him in custody for up to six months before trial.
Under South Korean law, orchestrating a rebellion is punishable by life imprisonment or the death penalty.
Yoon's lawyers have argued that there is no need to detain him during the investigation, saying he doesn't pose a threat to flee or destroy evidence.
Investigators respond that Yoon ignored several requests to appear for questioning, and that the presidential security service blocked an attempt to detain him on Jan. 3. His defiance has raised concerns about whether he would comply with criminal court proceedings if he's not under arrest.
