Ravindra's hundred, Williamson's fifty power New Zealand to 401 for 6 against Pakistan
Bengaluru (PTI): Rachin Ravindra made a hundred with talent written in bold letters over it, while Kane Williamson nearly made a century on comeback as New Zealand piled up a mammoth 401 for six against Pakistan in a crunch World Cup match here on Saturday.
Pakistan bowlers did not have enough variations to counter a smooth Chinnaswamy Stadium pitch as Ravindra (108 off 94 balls) and Williamson (95 off 79 balls) ran them ragged after the Kiwis were asked to bat first.
It was also only the second instance in this event that a team crossed the 400-run mark after South Africa did that against Sri Lanka in New Delhi.
Pakistan (six points) need to chase the target in 35.2 overs to climb to the fourth spot, which is with the Kiwis (eight points).
The 180 runs that Ravindra, who registered his third century of the tournament, and Williamson made off 142 balls for the second wicket gave New Zealand a confident launching pad after defeats in their last three matches.
Williamson and Ravindra accelerated linearly for a large part of their alliance well-taken singles and twos interspersed with those occasional hits to and over the ropes.
Williamson joined the action after a 68-run opening stand between Ravindra and Devon Conway, and the right-hand, left-hand combination gave a torrid time to Pakistan.
They were relentless but rather methodically. In fact, they scored only at 5.90 runs per over between 11th and 20th over before pressing the accelerator in the subsequent overs.
Even then their batting was all about class. Williamson's backfoot punch off pacer Haris Rauf that pierced the mid-off region carried all the oomph quotient with it and he did not spare spinners as well.
Pakistan gave the containment duty to off-spinner Iftikhar Ahmed but Williamson greeted him with two fours in succession one through mid-off and the other over mid-wicket.
Ravindra's off-side play with zero trigger movement was a sight for the sore eyes.
A flowing cover drive off pacer Hasan Ali and a withering square cut off Ahmed gave a touch of elegance, while a well-timed pull off Rauf that landed on the second tier stand over mid-on gave his innings a bit of muscle.
There was a streak of innovation too when the left-hander ramped Rauf for a boundary over stumper Mohammad Rizwan's head.
Ravindra brought up a popular hundred with a single off pacer Mohammad Wasim, as a good weekend crowd loudly chanted Raachin Raachin.'
The 90s kids would easily have visualised stands filled with that reverberating Saachin Saachin' chants at that moment.
However, the double barrel firing came to an end when Williamson fell well within sight of his 14th ODI hundred, an attempt to clear the fence off Ahmed ended in a finely judged catch by Fakhar Zaman at long-on.
Ravindra too did not last long as his pull off Wasim was snaffled at square leg by Saud Shakeel.
Pakistan might have thought of making a late comeback as they did against Australia a few days ago here, but Mark Chapman and Daryl Mitchell gave further impetus to Kiwis innings making 57 runs off 32 balls for the fourth wicket.
Glenn Phillips (41 off 26 balls) too chipped in with some typical beefy blows as the Black Caps innings switched on the afterburners.
In total, New Zealand made 114 runs in the last 10 overs to give Pakistan a steep mountain to scale down.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
House of BJP Minority Morcha's Manipur president torched for supporting Waqf Amendment Act
Imphal, Apr 6 (PTI): The house of the BJP Minority Morcha's Manipur president, Asker Ali, was set on fire by a mob on Sunday night allegedly for supporting the Waqf Amendment Act, officials said.
The incident happened at Lilong in Thoubal district, they said.
Ali had expressed his support for the Act on social media on Saturday.
An irate mob gathered outside his residence around 9 pm, vandalised it and later set it on fire, officials said.
Following the incident, Ali posted a video on social media, apologising for his earlier statement. He also expressed opposition to the Act.
Earlier in the day, protests were held in different parts of Imphal Valley against the Act.
Over 5,000 people participated in a rally that disrupted the traffic on NH 102 at Lilong.
In some places, the protesters got engaged in a scuffle with the security forces, officials said.
One such incident happened at Irong Chesaba in Thoubal in the morning. The scuffle broke out after the demonstrators were stopped by the security forces from moving forward.
The demonstrators raised slogans against the BJP-led government at the Centre, decrying the Act.
"The Waqf Amendment Act is against the ethos of the Constitution. It is completely unacceptable for the Muslim community," said Sakir Ahmed, a protester.
Protests were also held in Kshatri Awang Leikai, Kairang Muslim and Kiyamgei Muslim areas in Imphal East, and Sora in Thoubal district, among other places.
Security has been strengthened in Muslim-dominated areas of the Valley, with additional forces deployed, officials said.
The Waqf (Amendment) Bill was passed by the Lok Sabha on Thursday, and by the Rajya Sabha in the early hours of Friday after marathon debates in both Houses of Parliament.
The Act aims to streamline the management of Waqf properties (assets permanently donated by Muslims for religious or charitable purposes) with provisions to safeguard heritage sites and promote social welfare. It also seeks to improve governance by enhancing transparency in property management, streamlining coordination between Waqf boards and local authorities and protecting stakeholders’ rights.
President Droupadi Murmu gave her assent to the bill on Saturday.
Breaking:
— Dr. Lamtinthang Haokip (@DrLamtinthangHk) April 6, 2025
An angry mob of Lilong set fire to the house of @BJPManipur Minority Morcha President, Mr. Askar Ali Mkm for insulting fellow community & supporting the recently passed Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025. @rashtrapatibhvn @INCIndia @INCMinority @INCAdivasi @the_hindu… pic.twitter.com/PINixnXGma
