New Zealand openers Seifert, Allen blow UAE away with record-breaking stand in T20 World Cup
Chennai (PTI): The New Zealand opening pair of Tim Seifert and Finn Allen went on a rampage against the UAE bowling attack to make short work of the 174-run target, firing the Blacks Caps to a 10-wicket win in the T20 World Cup here on Tuesday.
The UAE did well to post 173 for six, their highest total in tournament history following fine fifties captain Muhammad Waseem (66 not out off 45) and Alishan Sharafu (55 off 4) at the top of the order.
However, the destructive duo of Allen (84 not out off 50) and Seifert (89 not out off 42) ran riot on a red soil pitch to fashion a 10-wicket victory for their team.
Their 175-run stand off 92 balls was the highest for any wicket in tournament history as New Zealand coasted to the win in 15.2 overs.
It was the first game of the tournament for UAE who would need to go back to the drawing board after the hammering at Chepauk.
New Zealand, eliminated early in the previous edition, have fired warning shots to rival teams with two emphatic wins in as many games.
Barring left-arm spinner Haider Ali, none of the UAE bowlers were able to contain Seifert and Allen who scored boundaries at will.
The game was as good as done when New Zealand raced to 119 for no loss in 10 overs.
The standout shots of Seifert's innings were the reverse sweeps off Haider in the 11th over, fetching him a six and four.
Allen tore into medium pacer Junaid Siddique early on the innings as he shuffled across the stumps to scoop him for a six over fine leg.
UAE pacers looked clueless against the onslaught of the New Zealand openers, paying a heavy price for bowling too many length balls. Allen completed the milestone of 100 sixes in T20 Internationals during his entertaining effort.
Earlier, Waseem and Sharafu were able to get boundaries regularly in the powerplay despite Aryansh Sharma (8) falling to Jacob Duffy off a short ball in the second over.
Waseem was more aggressive than Sharafu in their opening partnership, employing a ramp off Duffy for a six before coming down the track to Rachin Ravindra for a straight six.
Sharafu, at the other end, got to his fifty with a slog off a slower ball from Matt Henry towards the cow corner.
It took a special fielding effort from Mark Chapman at the deep midwicket boundary to break the partnership. Chapman parried the ball back to Dary Mitchell to complete a fine relay catch.
The boundaries dried up post the dismissal of Sharafu in the 15th over.
However, New Zealand captain Mitchell Santer decided to give the 18th over to Glenn Phillips who ended up leaking 27 runs in the over with Waseem and Mayank Kumar picking up a six each.
UAE managed 51 runs in the last five overs at the loss of four wickets including two in the final over.
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State recruitment exams: A system that tests patience more than merit
In India, Government exams are seen as a gateway to success in life. They offer job security, social mobility for the subaltern classes, a sense of recognition in society and a decent pay. While central government jobs are more lucrative and rewarding, they involve intense competition across the country, and the lack of nativity advantage pushes people towards state government jobs.
These state government jobs are relatively less competitive, offer a wide range of horizontal reservations, and also provide opportunities for regional aspirants as exams can be taken in regional languages. States like Karnataka even offer a good salary for those entering the government sector. This makes the state government exams more appealing to the aspirants.
Due to the serious unemployment crisis prevailing in India, the government jobs have become even more attractive these days. This has only increased competition further. We see reports of PhD candidates even applying for peon posts in government departments. Each post generally attracts more than 500 applicants and the syllabus too is generally vast for a government exam.
However, the devil lies in the details. What is more concerning is the non-academic aspect of state government exams: the psychological impact on aspirants. It begins with the notification. Once the notification is finalised, the exam dates are released. This exam date undergoes numerous revisions only to enhance the anxiety of hardworking aspirants. These dates are often poorly planned that they clash with other departmental recruitment exams or central government exams or some other important national events. All this owing to the great visionaries behind these exams!
Finally, the exam is conducted on a specified date, only to find that either the question paper was leaked or there were serious lapses in the conduct of the exam. They vary from issues concerning the translation of question paper, malpractice in the exam hall or even issues related to ill-advised answer keys. Then comes another mental agony to the aspirants when the whole exam gets cancelled and a re-exam is ordered.
In between these, hundreds of petitions are filed in the courts owing to the inefficiency of the exam conducting authority. This only pushes the examination dates further up adding to the agony of the candidates. If the examination has multiple levels like that of prelims and mains, these systemic issues occur once again in the lateral stages too.
More to these, there are some so-called organisations who try to make a name for themselves in the name of upholding aspirants’ interest. Their only objective is fame and to gain recognition among the political elites. While there are few who genuinely work for the students’ interest, many only try to gain a name for themselves putting genuine candidates under the bus. They cause more harm to the deserving candidates than upholding their interest.
Currently, in most of the state level government exams, the interview component has either been removed or their marks are reduced. Otherwise, this was another channel of ‘collection’ from the aspirants promising them a pivoted government post. That said, there are still murmurs that this kind of ‘setting’ still happens in various exams as seen in most of the states.
When such things are caught red-handed, it only results in the nullification of the exam and the order to re-conduct the same exam once again. The hard-working genuine aspirants who already faced the brunt of this agony, must face the wrath of this once again from the start.
Moreover, if there arise any structural issues like that of reservation overhaul or the interference of judiciary, the whole recruitment process gets stalled only to add fuel to the fire. All in all, the axe falls every time on the genuine candidates whose dreams now lay shattered!
Take for example the Gazetted Probationers notification of Karnataka released In Feb 2024; the preliminary exam date was postponed multiple times owing to different reasons only for the CM to intervene and strike off the exam due to translation issues. Later when the re-exam was conducted, similar calls were made but to no avail. Further, when the mains exam date was announced, it also underwent multiple changes even to the extent of judiciary stepping in at the last moment and allowing later entry for the mains exam. Even the mains exam was postponed ‘n’ number of times. Finally, when the exam was held, it took approximately 9 months to publish the results. While it’s good news to aspirants that finally the results are published, there are again allegations of corruption in this exam.
While the stakeholders are many in this turn of events – the exam conducting authority, the state government, the student organisations, the judiciary, the students involved in the malpractice – the ultimate casualty is just one, the hardworking genuine aspirants.
It is this bunch of people who have packed their bags and left home to prepare for these exams. They have also stayed socially isolated focussing only on clearing the exam and serving their state. In their prime age of working hard and building a career for themselves, they remain committed to these exams believing that there is light at the end of the tunnel. Many also find it extremely difficult to sustain themselves and depend on odd menial jobs to help themselves. A large proportion of these aspirants come from the lower to mid economic class and this makes their case even more painstaking.
It is high time that the state governments reform the examination authorities and align it with that of the standard of the UPSC. The judiciary should also exercise judicial restraint and ensure the process is not stagnated further. The student organisations should stop working for fame and start working for the interests of genuine candidates. Only then the real objective of state government jobs can be fulfilled in ensuring mutual benefits to the people, state government and deserving candidates. A system meant to reward merit must not become a test of endurance. Reforming state recruitment processes is no longer a policy choice - it is a moral obligation.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect the views, policies, or position of the publication, its editors, or its management. The publication is not responsible for the accuracy of any information, statements, or opinions presented in this piece.
