India struggle to 148 for six against Bangladesh in opening T20I
New Delhi, Nov 3: There were no demons in the wicket but none of the Indian batsmen could play a substantial knock as the hosts settled for a below par 148 for six in the opening T20 International against Bangladesh here on Sunday.
It was a struggle for the Indian batsmen throughout after they were invited to bat at Arun Jaitley Stadium.
At the top, after skipper Rohit Sharma's early dismissal, Shikhar Dhawan scored at a slow pace, managing just 41 off 42 balls.
Dhawan, who has been struggling to find his touch since his comeback, was top-the scorer for India but he consumed seven overs before running himself out and it affected team's scoring rate.
Much was expected from India's young brigade but save Shreyas Iyer, none took the attack by the scruff of its neck.
Iyer played an entertaining 13-ball 22 run knock, giving the innings a much needed move on.
Shivam Dube's much-awaited debut ended with just one run while Rishabh Pant managed 27 off 26 balls.
Had it not been for some gritty stroke-making by Washington Sundar (14 off 5 balls) and Krunal Pandya (15 off 8 balls), India would not have got close to the 150-run mark.
Pacer Shafiul Islam (2/36) and spinner Aminul Isam (2/22) shared four wickets between them.
India skipper Rohit, playing his 99th T20I, began by glancing the first delivery from Shafiul to the boundary ropes and also cover drove the paceman for another four as the hosts made a flying start.
However, Islam cut short Rohit's stay by trapping him before the wicket in the fifth ball.
KL Rahul and Dhawan struggled to stroke freely and it took the left-handed batsman 13 balls to find his first boundary off Mustafizur Rahman.
Rahul's 17-ball stay yielded just 15 runs and his knocked ended with a soft dismissal.
Iyer, who has captained Delhi Capitals in IPL at this ground, got into act immediately, striking a massive six, an inside-out shot off spinner Aminul Islam.
The young batsman kept looking for big shots and dispatched one into the stands off Islam while Dhawan continued to struggle.
Iyer went after Aminul again but was caught by debutant Mohammed Naim near the boundary ropes.
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Sharad Pawar praised RSS after seeing how it burst fake narrative balloon of LS polls: Fadnavis
Nagpur, Jan 10: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday said NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar praised the RSS after realising how the outfit managed to overcome the fake narrative spread by the opposition in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
The opposition had claimed BJP wanted to win 400 seats to change the Constitution and end reservations, a narrative which BJP leaders later claimed hit the party hard.
On Pawar praising the RSS recently, the CM said the MVA was successful in creating a fake narrative during the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
"When assembly polls were approaching, many people from diverse fields who are inspired by the RSS played their role and burst the balloon of this fake narrative. Sharad Pawar saheb is very intelligent. He would have certainly studied this aspect. He realised that this (RSS) is not a regular political power but a nationalist power. In any competition it is good to praise others," he added.
That is why Pawar may have praised the RSS, Fadnavis said.
Speaking at an interaction with senior editor Vivek Ghalsasi at Late Vilasji Fadnis Jivhala programme here, Fadnavis also said he had asked for organisational work when Eknath Shinde was made chief minister in June 2022, but senior leaders asked him to join the government.
He also said Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked him not to behave like an extra-constitutional authority in the government.
He said the decision to become deputy chief minister on the command of the party leadership earned him a lot of praise from the cadre.
After the massive mandate the ruling alliance received in the 2024 assembly polls, Fadnavis said people and party workers would not have been happy if the CM was not from the BJP.
Shinde himself agreed within minutes that the CM must be from the BJP, which itself got 132 seats and was close to a majority of its own in the 288-member assembly, he added.
On Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray meeting him during the winter sessions of the legislature in Nagpur, Fadnavis said he had announced he would not indulge in politics of revenge after becoming CM and all leaders responded positively to it.
On chances of the NCP (SP) and NCP coming closer or reuniting, Fadnavis said, "If you see the developments that took place from 2019 to 2024, I realised never say never and anything can happen. Uddhav Thackeray goes to some other party and Ajit Pawar comes to us. In politics anything can happen though I am not saying this should happen."
He praised BJP leader Arun Gujarati from whom he learnt patience, which he claimed was an important quality in politics along with the ability to take criticism.
In a lighter vein, he said, "I only get angry when I am hungry. If you see me angry then give me something to eat and my anger will go away."
