WPL: Voll hits 99 not out as UPW knock out RCB with 12-run win
Lucknow, Mar 8 (PTI): Georgia Voll smashed a majestic unbeaten 99 as out-of-contention UP Warriorz played party-poopers, eliminating defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru from the Women's Premier League with a thrilling 12-run win in a high-scoring match here on Saturday.
The 21-year-old Voll was in exceptional form, striking 17 fours and one six in her 56-ball innings to power UPW to a record total of 225/5, the highest ever in the tournament's history.
UPW's top order was in explosive form, with Kiran Navgire (46 off 16 balls), Grace Harris (39 off 22), and Chinelle Henry (19 off 15) all contributing with aggressive batting after being asked to bat first.
In reply, Richa Ghosh's blistering 33-ball 69 and Sneh Rana's fiery hitting, including three sixes and two fours off Deepti Sharma in the 19th over, kept RCB in the hunt. However, they fell short, finishing at 213 all out in 19.3 overs, unable to chase down the record target.
With the victory, UPW ended their campaign with six points, while RCB remained on four with one match left. The result also confirmed the knockout berths for Gujarat Giants and Mumbai Indians, who are both on eight points with one and two matches remaining, respectively.
Delhi Capitals had already secured their spot in the knockout stage with 10 points.
RCB started their chase confidently, reaching 70/2 in the first six overs, but lost wickets at regular intervals as they attempted to keep up with the required run rate.
Sabbhineni Meghana (27) hit two fours and as many sixes off Harris in the second over, but Henry removed skipper Smriti Mandhana (4). Ellyse Perry (28) struck three fours off the bowler before Sophie Ecclestone dismissed Meghana.
Raghvi Bist and Perry continued to fight back, taking on Kranti Goud, but Anjali Sarvani, making her debut, cleaned up Perry, and Henry sent Bist back, leaving RCB at 80/4 in 7.3 overs.
Ghosh then launched a blistering counter-attack, blasting five sixes and six fours in her 33-ball knock, but was eventually caught by Henry off Deepti Sharma.
With 43 runs needed from the final 12 balls, Rana smashed some big hits off Deepti, but the bowler had her caught on the last ball.
RCB, who had lost their last four matches, saw skipper Mandhana win the toss, but Voll and Harris seized the opportunity, posting the highest powerplay score of the season -- 67/0.
Harris was the aggressor early on, smashing five fours off Kim Garth, while Voll contributed with three fours off Renuka Singh.
The partnership was broken when Harris was run out, but Navgire joined Voll for a rapid 71-run stand off 31 balls, taking UPW to 100 in just 9.3 overs. Navgire hit five sixes before being dismissed by Perry at long-off.
Voll and Henry added 43 runs off 25 balls as UPW continued their relentless attack. Henry hit four boundaries before being dismissed, leaving UPW at 191/3 in the 17th over.
Voll finished just one run short of a century as Deepti Sharma was run out off the final ball.
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Delhi CM Rekha Gupta accuses Mamata Banerjee of stalling SIR; TMC hits back
Kolkata (PTI): Alleging that her West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee had approached the Supreme Court to stall the SIR exercise to prevent the identification of infiltrators, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Sunday claimed that the people of the state have made up their minds to dislodge the Trinamool Congress from power.
The TMC countered strongly, urging Gupta to "look into her own backyard" and accused her of making absurd allegations against the TMC government without checking facts.
Addressing participants at the 'Nari Sankalp Yatra' organised by the BJP's women's wing at Science City auditorium here, Gupta alleged that the "hands-off" and appeasement policies of the TMC government had allowed thousands of infiltrators to enter the state in recent years.
She claimed that this had put a strain on basic rights such as access to water, electricity, ration, education, livelihood and the right to vote for genuine citizens.
"She wants to perpetuate this and hence is trying to stall the SIR exercise, which aims at identifying and deporting infiltrators. Imagine a chief minister going to the apex court to argue against an exercise meant to ensure free and fair polls," Gupta said.
The BJP leader alleged that appeasement politics had reached an "alarming level" under the TMC regime.
Raising concerns over women's safety, she claimed that women in the state were not secure despite having a woman chief minister.
Referring to the rape-murder of a woman doctor at RG Kar Hospital, Gupta alleged that the state government had failed to respond adequately to such crimes.
She also referred to the alleged rape of a woman medic in Durgapur and another law student on a Kolkata college campus, claiming that criminals had been emboldened to commit brutalities against women.
She alleged that in crimes against women, overall crime incidents and child marriages, West Bengal remained among the top -- "a slur on a state which once led intellectual and social movements and set examples for the rest of the country," she said.
Criticising the state government's welfare initiatives, she said schemes such as Kanyashree were built on "false claims" and asserted that women needed security rather than assurances.
Accusing the state government of blocking central schemes, Gupta alleged that funds worth "lakhs of crores of rupees" had not reached the poor due to non-implementation of programmes such as Ayushman Bharat, PM Awas Yojana and Jal Jeevan Mission by the state.
"You are only interested in renaming projects and taking credit," she said.
Gupta also alleged that the education sector in the state had been adversely affected, saying several state-run schools had closed due to a shortage of teachers and that the government was opposed to the National Education Policy.
Drawing a comparison with BJP-ruled Delhi, Gupta said, "People have already voted out 'Bhaia' (a reference to former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal). Now it is your turn to bid farewell to 'Didi'." Calling upon women to resist what she termed "strong-arm tactics", she urged them to assert their strength, invoking the imagery of Goddess Durga.
"Bengal has the right to live with dignity, and women have the right to live with dignity," she added.
Reacting to Gupta's allegations, West Bengal Women and Child Welfare minister Shashi Panja accused her of making "absurd allegations" against the Trinamool Congress government ahead of elections.
Panja alleged that during Gupta's tenure in Delhi, several incidents had raised serious concerns, including reports of missing young women and a blast near the Red Fort.
She also criticised the air pollution situation in the national capital, claiming that people were struggling to breathe.
The TMC leader said that despite being in power for a year, Gupta was making "tall claims" instead of addressing key issues in Delhi.
Panja further alleged that the Delhi CM visited West Bengal during elections to "peddle false allegations" against the state government.
Rebutting Gupta, the TMC said in a post on X said, "Madam why did you go off-script again? For your edification, here are the cold, hard facts: In total cases of crimes (IPC + SLL), Bengal ranks a respectable 15th, far safer than BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Gujarat, which languish near the bottom."
"In overall crime rate, Bengal sits comfortably at 28th. Who's second? Your own Delhi. Double Engine Gujarat and Haryana grab 4th and 5th as top-tier crime havens," the TMC said.
"In child marriage, Assam again takes the shameful pole position. And yet you dare lecture Bengal? Stop embarrassing yourself, stop the hypocrisy, and maybe fix the rotting mess in your own backyard before pointing fingers at a state that's outperforming your disasters on every key metric," the TMC countered.
