Scotland stun Bangladesh by 6 runs in T20 WC first round
Al Amerat (Oman), Oct 17: Scotland stunned Bangladesh by six runs in their Group B opener of the T20 World Cup first round here on Sunday.
Chris Greaves led a fine lower-order fightback with a 28-ball 45 as Scotland recovered from a hopeless situation to post 140 for nine.
Invited to bat first, Scotland were reeling at 53 for six in the 12th over before Greaves added 51 runs with Mark Watt (22 off 17 balls) to prop up Scotland.
In reply, Bangladesh were stopped at 134 for seven in their allotted quota of 20 overs as the tournament witnessed an upset on the very first day of the mega-event.
Playing a pivotal role in Scotland's win was Greaves, who followed up his blazing knock with the two important wickets of star all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan (20) and the seasoned Mushfiqur Rahim (38).
Brief scores:
Scotland: 140/9 in 20 overs (George Munsey 29, Chris Greaves 45; Mahedi Hasan 3/19, Shakib Al Hasan 2/17).
Bangladesh: 134/7 in 20 overs (Mushfiqur Rahim 38; Chris Greaves 2/19, Bradley Wheal 3/24).
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.
Air India flights to North America, Europe to use alternative routes
New Delhi (PTI): Air India will operate its flights to North America and Europe using alternative routes over available airspaces in the Middle East and cancel six flights to various European cities on March 2.
The airline, which cancelled 50 international flights on Sunday, said it would extend suspension of all flights to and from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Israel and Qatar till 23:59 hours (IST) on March 2.
In a post on X on Sunday, the carrier said six flights, including Amritsar-Birmingham (AI117) and Birmingham-Delhi (AI114), would be cancelled on Monday.
Besides, AI151 and A152 flights between Delhi and Zurich, as well as AI157 and AI158 flights between Delhi and Copenhagen, would be cancelled on Monday.
“All other flights to North America and Europe will operate as per schedule using alternative routings over available airspaces in the Middle East, which is expected to add to the flying times.
"Additionally, flights to New York (JFK) and Newark (Liberty International) will operate with technical stops at Rome (Fiumicino Airport)," Air India said.
With stops in Rome, the flying time for Air India flights to North America would increase and also result in increased operating expenses.
Since the Iran and Iraq airspaces remain closed, officials said the airline would take the Egypt route to reach Europe, which would mean 30-40 minutes of additional flying time.
The flights would take the route through Oman, the southern part of Saudi Arabia and Egypt for European and North American destinations, the officials added.
The airline also said that it continues to closely monitor the situation and has carefully assessed the evolving circumstances across multiple parameters, including safety, security, airspace availability, and operational feasibility, before deciding on these operations for March 2.
In the wake of the escalating Middle East crisis, flight operations have been significantly disrupted, with the civil aviation ministry saying Indian carriers cancelled 350 international flights on Sunday.
