Ireland script maiden Test win, defeat Afghanistan by six wickets
Abu Dhabi, Mar 1: Nearly seven years after they were granted Test status, Ireland secured their maiden win in the longest format, defeating Afghanistan by six wickets in a one-off Test here on Friday.
Ireland skipper Andy Balbirne anchored the 111-run chase in their second essay with an unbeaten 58 off 96 balls after pacer Mark Adair's eight-wicket match haul (5/39 and 3/56) to secure their first-ever win in eight Tests.
Opting to bat, Afghanistan's first innings had lasted just 54.5 overs, folding up for 155 with Adair returning with his maiden five-wicket haul, taking advantage of the swinging conditions at the Tolerance Oval here.
He was ably supported by Craig Young (2/31), Curtis Campher (2/13) and Barry McCarthy (1/28).
If not for the patient opening knock of 53 by Ibrahim Zadran and the resistance shown by Karim Janat (41 not out) towards the end, Afghanistan would have ended up with a much lower first-innings score.
In reply, Ireland stuttered at the start before Campher (49) and Harry Tector (32) stabilised the innings.
Despite a brief comeback by Afghanistan, Ireland's middle and lower order put up a solid performance. Aided by mature knocks from Paul Stirling (52), Lorcan Tucker (46) and Andy McBrine (38) Ireland made 263, giving them a handy first-innings lead of 108 runs.
In reply, Afghanistan managed 218 runs in the second innings with Adair and McCarthy claiming three wickets each to set an easy 111-run target.
Afghanistan's top and middle order offered some resistance with crucial knocks from captain Hashmatullah Shahidi (55) and Rahmanullah Gurbaz (46). But Adair removed Shahidi and, along with McCarthy and Craig Young, strangled the scoring rate, returning with 3/24.
Afghanistan, however, reduced Ireland to 13/3, thanks to a stunning opening spell from Naveed Zadran (2/31) and Nijat Masood (1/27).
But Balbirnie held fort in his two-hour knock, combining first with Paul Stirling (14) and then with Lorcan Tucker (27 not out) to eke out the win with two days to spare.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) had on June 22, 2017 confirmed Ireland as Full Member, according them the Test status. But since then, the team has lost seven matches -- twice to England and Sri Lanka, and one each to Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.
Incidentally, Afghanistan had also secured their first win in Tests against Ireland in 2019.
Brief Scores:
Afghanistan 155 (Ibrahim Zadran 53; Mark Adair 5/39) and 218 (Hashmatullah Shahidi 55; Craig Young 3/24, Barry McCarthy 3/48, Adair 3/56)
Ireland 263 (Paul Stirling 52; Zia-ur-Rahman 5/64) and 111/4 (Andy Balbirnie 58 not out).
A historic moment for Irish cricket as they claim their first-ever Test victory, beating Afghanistan by six wickets in Abu Dhabi ☘👏
— ICC (@ICC) March 1, 2024
Details 👉 https://t.co/DDB4xXWTR9 pic.twitter.com/1gvCM8RUM7
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SC dismisses pleas seeking review of 2023 verdict declining legal sanction to same-sex marriage
New Delhi, Jan 9: The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed a batch of pleas seeking to review its October 2023 verdict declining legal sanction to same-sex marriage.
A five-judge bench of Justices B R Gavai, Surya Kant, B V Nagarathna, P S Narasimha and Dipankar Datta took up about 13 petitions related to the matter in chambers and dismissed them.
"We do not find any error apparent on the face of the record. We further find that the view expressed in both the judgements is in accordance with law and as such, no interference is warranted. Accordingly, the review petitions are dismissed," the bench said.
It said the judges have carefully gone through the judgements delivered by Justice (since retired) S Ravindra Bhat speaking for himself and for Justice (since retired) Hima Kohli as well as the concurring opinion expressed by Justice Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha, constituting the majority view.
The bench also rejected a prayer made in the review petitions for hearing in an open court.
According to practice, the review pleas are considered in chambers by the judges.
The new bench was constituted after Justice Sanjiv Khanna, the present CJI, recused from hearing the review petitions on July 10, 2024.
Notably, Justice P S Narasimha is the only member of the original Constitution bench comprising five judges which delivered the verdict, as former CJI D Y Chandrachud and Justices S K Kaul, Ravindra Bhat and Hima Kohli have retired.
A five-judge Constitution bench led by then CJI Chandrachud on October 17, 2024, refused to accord legal backing to same-sex marriages and held there was "no unqualified right" to marriage with the exception of those recognised by law.
The apex court, however, made a strong pitch for the rights of LGBTQIA++ persons so that they didn't face discrimination in accessing goods and services available to others, safe houses known as "garima greh" in all districts for shelter to members of the community facing harassment and violence, and dedicated hotlines in case of trouble.
In its judgement, the bench held transpersons in heterosexual relationships had the freedom and entitlement to marry under the existing statutory provisions.
It said an entitlement to legal recognition of the right to union, akin to marriage or civil union, or conferring legal status to the relationship could be only done through an "enacted law".
The five-judge Constitution bench delivered four separate verdicts on a batch of 21 petitions seeking legal sanction for same-sex marriages.
All five judges were unanimous in refusing the legal recognition to same-sex marriage under the Special Marriage Act and observed it was within Parliament's ambit to change the law for validating such a union.
While former CJI Chandrachud wrote a separate 247-page verdict, Justice Kaul penned a 17-page judgement where he broadly agreed with the former's views.
Justice Bhat, who authored an 89-page judgement for himself and Justice Kohli, disagreed with certain conclusions arrived at by the former CJI, including on applicability of adoption rules for such couples.
Justice Narasimha in his 13-page verdict was in complete agreement with the reasoning and conclusion of Justice Bhat.
The judges were unanimous in holding that queerness was a natural phenomenon and not an "urban or elite" notion.
In his judgement, the former CJI recorded Solicitor General Tushar Mehta's assurance of forming a committee chaired by the cabinet secretary to define and elucidate the scope of entitlements of such couples in a union.
The LGBTQIA++ rights activists, who won a major legal battle in 2018 in the Supreme Court, which decriminalised consensual gay sex, moved the apex court seeking validation of same-sex marriages and consequential reliefs such as rights to adoption, enrolment as parents in schools, opening of bank accounts and availing succession and insurance benefits.
Some of the petitioners sought the apex court to use its plenary power besides the "prestige and moral authority" to push the society to acknowledge such a union and ensure LGBTQIA++ persons led a "dignified" life like heterosexuals.
