Pakistan keep semi-final hopes alive with scrappy win over Netherlands
Perth(PTI): Pakistan were once again scrappy with the bat but managed to eke out a six-wicket victory over the Netherlands in the T20 World Cup here on Sunday to keep their slim semifinal hopes alive.
The Dutchmen found Pakistan’s world class pace attack too hot to handle on a bowlers’ friendly Optus Stadium track, managing only 91 for 9 in their 20 overs.
One of the batters, Bas de Leede (6) retired hurt after being hit below the eye by a snorter from Haris Rauf.
The target of 92 was never going to be an issue for Pakistan but even then it took them 13.5 overs to complete the chase with ICC’s No. 1 ranked T20 batter Mohammed Rizwan managing 49 off 39 balls at an unimpressive strike-rate of 125.64.
With Bangladesh also getting the better of Zimbabwe in a thriller, Pakistan’s chances of remaining alive in the tournament increased.
The full credit for this win will go to the bowlers, who hardly put a foot wrong on the day as Shaheen Shah Afridi (1/19 in 4 overs) and Naseem Shah (1/11 in 4 overs) choked the run flow in the Powerplay and the Dutch could never break the shackles.
Mohammed Wasim (2/15 in 3 overs) was very brisk during the back end while Shadab Khan reaped the fruits of this relentless pressure by the speed merchants with best figures of 3/10.
For the Dutch, the kind of extreme pace that they faced on the day isn’t something that they are accustomed to at the Associate level.
It was inevitable that they couldn’t really manage to get on top of the bowling as Powerplay overs yielded only 18 runs. It was ball hitting the bat rather than other way round.
De Leede got a nasty one from Rauf and was on all fours before he had to be rushed off the field. One saw a big swelling under his right eye as he walked off the field.
The short ball also played into the psyche of the batters as Colin Ackermann’s run-a-ball 27 was their top score. The only other batter to reach double figures was skipper Scott Edwards (15 off 20 balls).
Such was the domination of the Pakistani pace attack that the Netherlands managed a cumulative total of only five boundaries in 20 overs.
While batting, Babar Azam’s (4) run-out was unfortunate as he couldn’t beat a direct throw from from former Proteas spinner Roelof van der Merwe (playing for his country of birth) while Fakhar Zaman (20 off 16 balls) smashed three fours before Edwards took a diving catch off seamer Brandon Glover’s delivery.
But Rizwan completed the chase with minimum fuss
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Catholic Bishops' body slams Bhagwat's remarks
New Delhi: The Catholic Bishops' Conference of India on Thursday slammed RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat for his reported remark that Pranab Mukherjee, when he was President, had said tribals would turn "anti-national" if there is no "ghar wapsi"Catholic Bishops.'
In a statement issued here, CBCI, a body of Catholic Bishops, referred to reports which said Bhagwat, at an event on Monday, claimed that Mukherjee, while he was President had appreciated ghar wapsi and told him that had it not been for the Sangh's work on reconversion, a section of Adivasis would have turned "anti-national".The CBCI called the report "shocking".
"Fabricated personal conversation being attributed to a former president of India and its posthumous publication with the vested interest of an organization with questionable credibility raises a grave issue of national importance," the CBCI claimed.
"Is it not the violent ghar wapsi program of VHP and other similar organizations, curtailing the exercise of freedom of conscience of economically deprived tribals, the real anti-national activity?" it asked.
'Ghar wapsi' is a term used by the RSS and affiliated organisations to refer to reconversion of Muslims and Christians to Hinduism, based on the belief that they were originally Hindus before converting to other religions.
The CBCI also questioned why Bhagwat did not speak about it while Mukherjee was alive.
"We, the 2.3 percent of Indian citizens who are Christians feel extremely hurt by such manipulated and motivated propaganda unleashed," it said.
In a post on X following the statement issued by CBCI, Trinamool Congress leader Derek O'Brien said, "Speak up. This is a start!"
"Bishops body have issued a statement condemning remarks made by Dr Mohan Bhagwat and RSS for defaming the Christian community," he said.
O'Brien added that they should ask Prime Minister Narendra Modi more questions, including why Christmas Day has been turned into "Good Governance Day".
The TMC leader, in a blogpost earlier this month, had said "hard questions" must be asked to the government with regards to the Christian community, including why the FCRA has been 'weaponised', and why has Manipur been 'ignored'.
