Kohli, Suryakumar named in "Most Valued Team" of 2022 T20 World Cup
Melbourne (PTI): Tournament's leading run-getter Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav were on Monday named in the "Most Valuable Team" of ICC 2022 T20 World Cup.
Indian superstar Kohli ended as the tournament's most prolific batter with 296 runs at a stunning average of 98.66.
Kohli kick-started his campaign with a pivotal 82 not out against arch rivals Pakistan to anchor his side to a heart-thumping final-ball four-wicket victory.
And further knocks of 64 not out against Bangladesh, 62 not out against the Netherlands and 50 against England in the semi-finals helped round off an individual competition to savour for one of the greatest white-ball batters of the modern era.
Fellow Indian Suryakumar finished as the tournament's third highest run-scorer with 239 runs overall.
Three half centuries -- 51 not out against the Netherlands in Sydney, 68 against South Africa in Perth and 61 not out off just 25 balls against Zimbabwe in Melbourne -- helped haul his side into the semi-finals as he scored at a staggering strike rate of 189.68 in his six innings.
Another Indian, Hardik Pandya was named as the 12th man of the side.
"Players from six different teams have been named in the Upstox Most Valuable Team of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022," the ICC said in a statement a day after England won their second world title in the shortest format.
Captain, wicketkeeper and opening batter Jos Buttler, fellow opener Alex Hales and seamer Sam Curran all made the cut for England.
New Zealand star Glenn Phillips and Zimbabwe ace Sikandar Raza occupy the No.5 and 6 positions in the playing eleven. Phillips' stunning century against Sri Lanka catapulted his team to a comfortable 65-run victory in Sydney.
Another innings of 62 against England helped him reach a total of 201 runs at an average of 40.20.
For Raza, 219 runs and 10 wickets, proved pivotal assets for Zimbabwe with both bat and ball.
He scored a polished 82 off his 48 balls in his country's opening game against Ireland in Hobart, before further batting contributions against Scotland, Netherland and India -- bolstered by a brilliant three for 25 as Zimbabwe stunned Pakistan in Perth -- rounded off a tournament to remember.
Completing the middle order is Pakistan all-rounder Shadab Khan, who grabbed an impressive 11 wickets at an average of just 15.00.
And he was similarly impressive with the bat, striking a solid 92 runs at an average of 24.50 to help fire his side to the final in Melbourne.
Sam Curran and Anrich Nortje line up at No.8 and 9, with the former being crowned Player of the Tournament after a series of spellbinding bowling displays.
The left-arm seamer claimed remarkable figures of 3 for 12 off his four overs in the final after getting his tournament underway with a similarly scintillating five for 10 against Afghanistan.
Another bowler who starred was pace ace Nortje, who functioned as a vital weapon in South Africa's armoury after finishing with a tournament-best average of just 8.54.
Nortje conceded just 94 runs while in the process of taking his 11 wickets as four scalps against both Bangladesh and Pakistan helped him become one of the competition's most fearsome bowlers.
Rounding off the side at No.10 and 11 are fellow pace bowlers Mark Wood and Shaheen Shah Afridi, who took nine and 11 wickets respectively for England and Pakistan.
Despite being ruled out of the semi-finals and final through injury, Wood's consistency throughout the Super 12s -- spearheaded by three wickets against Afghanistan and Ireland -- saw him finish the tournament with an average of just 12.00.
And for Afridi, who also suffered an unfortunate injury in Sunday's final, his figures of four for 22 against Bangladesh and three for 14 against South Africa helped him emulate his new-ball heroics in last year's tournament as Pakistan were narrowly denied in Melbourne.
Taking his place as 12th man is Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya, who starred with both bat and ball by racking up 128 runs and eight wickets.
The dangerous middle-order ace blasted 63 against England in the semi-finals after also took key wickets against Pakistan, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe throughout the Super 12s.
The Team in batting order: Alex Hales, Jos Buttler, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Glenn Phillips, Sikandar Raza, Shadab Khan, Sam Curran, Anrich Nortje, Mark Wood, Shaheen Shah Afridi. 12th man Hardik Pandya.
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Congress not just removed clothes at AI Summit but exposed its intellectual bankruptcy: PM Modi
New Delhi (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday came down heavily on the Congress for the shirtless protest by its youth wing members at the AI Impact Summit recently, saying the opposition party can tear as many clothes as it wants, but his government will continue to work for the country's progress.
Addressing the News18 Rising Bharat Summit, Modi also said that the Congress did not just remove its clothes in front of foreign guests but also exposed its intellectual bankruptcy, asserting that the millennials have already taught the country's oldest party a lesson, and now Gen-Z is ready to do the same.
In an apparent jibe at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Modi said the opposition was unhappy seeing the statue of "Babbar Shers" (lions) installed atop the new Parliament building, but their own “Babbar Shers" were running away after facing the "shoes" of the general public.
Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, had said on February 24 that he was proud of the "Babbar Shers" of the Indian Youth Congress, who "fearlessly" raised their voice at the AI Summit.
"Congress ke Babbar Sher logon ki jute kha ke bhaag gaye (The 'lions' of Congress ran away after being hit by shoes by the public)," Modi said.
The prime minister was apparently referring to the protesting Youth Congress workers being heckled by some people at the AI Summit.
On February 20, a group of Indian Youth Congress (IYC) workers staged a dramatic protest inside Hall No. 5 of the summit venue in Delhi by removing their shirts to reveal T-shirts printed with anti-government slogans, triggering a political slugfest between the BJP and the Congress.
“Congress can tear as many clothes as it wants, but we will continue to work for India's development. Congress not just shed clothes at the AI Summit, it also exposed its incapabilities in front of foreign guests,” Modi said in his nearly 45-minute speech.
He said the AI Summit was a moment of pride for the entire nation, but unfortunately, Congress attempted to tarnish this national celebration.
"When the frustration and despair of failure weigh on the mind, and arrogance makes one's head spin, such a mindset emerges to defame the country," he said.
The prime minister also alleged that the Congress always takes refuge in Mahatma Gandhi to hide its failures, but tries to give credit to one family for anything good.
"People of our country welcomed every good step taken by our government, but the Congress only knows how to oppose everything. The votes of Congress are not stolen; rather, people do not consider Congress worthy of their votes. Millennials first taught a lesson to Congress, now Gen-Z is ready to do the same," he said.
Modi also said that in a democracy, the role of the opposition is not just about blindly opposing every move of the government, but presenting an alternative vision, and that is why the "enlightened public" of the country is "teaching a lesson" to Congress now.
In 1984, the Congress got 39 per cent of the votes and more than 400 seats. But its votes declined consistently in the subsequent elections, Modi said.
"Today, the condition of the Congress is such that it has more than 50 MLAs in just four states. Over the past 40 years, the number of young voters in the country has increased, but the Congress has clearly diminished," Modi said.
On the recent trade deals that India signed with foreign countries, Modi said the country has discovered its inherent strength and strengthened its institutions, which prompted developed nations to come forward and sign deals with India.
He also said that even after Independence, some people ensured that the colonial mindset remained for their own benefits.
"No country would have done trade deals with us had we not discovered our inherent strength and strengthened our institutions. Because of this, developed nations have come forward to sign trade deals (with India)," he said.
Modi also said that even after Independence, India was unable to break free from the mentality of slavery, for which the country is still paying the price.
"The latest example of this can be seen in the ongoing discussions on trade deals. Some people are shocked – ‘what has happened, how did this happen? Why are developed countries so eager to do trade deals with India?’ The answer is – a confident India is emerging from despair and frustration," he said.
Over the long span of history, centuries of slavery had instilled a feeling of inferiority, while the ideology imported from other countries deeply ingrained in society the notion that Indians were uneducated and subservient, the prime minister said.
"If the country was still mired in the despair of the pre-2014 era, counted among the 'Fragile Five', and gripped by policy paralysis, who would strike a trade deal with us?
"Over the past 11 years, a new surge of energy has flowed into the nation's consciousness. India is now striving to reclaim its lost potential," Modi said.
The prime minister also said that due to the recent series of reforms initiated by his government, the world's most powerful nations are now coming forward to sign trade deals with India.
"There was a time when India was only a consumer of new technology. But now we are not just developing them, but also setting standards," he said.
The prime minister also said that India's digital public infrastructure has become a subject of global discussion today, and every move India makes is closely watched and analysed across the world.
"The AI Summit was a clear example of this," he said.
The government's 'Viksit Bharat by 2047' is not a political slogan but an effort to correct the mistakes of the previous Congress governments by making India self-reliant, he said.
“So far, in every industrial revolution, India and the Global South largely remained followers, but in this age of artificial intelligence (AI), India is not only participating but is also shaping it. India now has its own AI startup ecosystem,” Modi said.
He also said the world is astonished that India, where around 30 million families lived in darkness until 2014, has now risen to become one of the top countries in solar power capacity.
India, where many cities had no hope of improving their public transport system, has now become the country with the world's third-largest Metro network, Modi said.
“The Indian Railways was known only for chronic delays and sluggish speeds, yet semi-high-speed connectivity like Vande Bharat and Namo Bharat has now become possible,” he said.
Nation-building never happens through short-term thinking; it is shaped by a long-term vision, patience and timely decisions, the prime minister added.
