Women's T20 WC: Mandhana's half-century in vain as India lose to England
Gqeberha (South Africa), Feb 18: India vice-captain Smriti Mandhana's half-century (52 off 41 balls) and an entertaining 34-ball 47 from Richa Ghosh went in vain as India lost their ICC Women's T20 World Cup group match to England by 11 runs here on Saturday.
The cheap dismissals of opener Shafali Verma (8), Jemimah Rodrigues (13) and skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (4) contributed to the defeat as India could never recover from the top-order collapse.
Earlier, India had restricted England to 151 for seven with medium pacer Renuka Singh (5/15) registering her best bowling figures in the format after India opted to bowl.
Her five-wicket haul gave India hope that they could defeat the Heather Knight-led side, but Sarah Glenn (2/27 in 4 overs) and Sophie Ecclestone's (1/11 in 3 overs) restrictive bowling didn't allow Indian batters play their strokes freely.
Finally a winning total of 152 proved too much for India.
Brief Scores:
England: 151 for 7 in 20 overs (Nat Sciver-Brunt 50; Renuka Singh 5/15)
India: 140 for 5 in 20 overs (Smriti Mandhana 52, Richa Ghosh 47 not out; Sarah Glenn 2/27, Sophie Ecclestone 1/14).
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Is it caste census or census of hatred, asks Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy
Bengaluru (PTI): Criticising the caste census report tabled before the Karnataka Cabinet, Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy on Tuesday questioned whether it was a caste census or a census of hatred.
In a statement, Kumaraswamy, who holds steel and heavy industries portfolio, sought to know the population of Vokkaliga, the dominant agrarian community, which he belongs to.
“What is it really — a caste census or a census of hate? Is this so-called census a conspiracy designed to deliberately provoke unrest in the state? Or is it merely a diversionary tactic to deflect attention from the embarrassment caused by relentless price hikes and a series of corruption scandals?” the Minister questioned.
He further said, “If the entire state ends up engulfed in the flames of caste divisions, is this move by the Congress government in Karnataka a premeditated attempt to politically and socially marginalize certain communities?”
Expressing concerns over the leaked caste census report, Kumaraswamy said the ‘so-called statistics’ from this report are now floating everywhere. Some unknown hand has systematically leaked them into the public domain, he alleged.
The Minister sought to the know the actual population of the Vokkaliga community residing across the Old Mysuru region such as Mandya, Kolar, Chikkaballapur, Ramanagara, Bengaluru Rural, Tumakuru, and Chitradurga.
He also took a jibe at Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar for taking a U-turn on the caste census, despite having previously opposed it.
“Sleepless in his pursuit of the Chief Minister’s chair, he (Shivakumar) once begged the community saying, ‘Just give me a pen and paper once!’ And now, is that same man bowing his head and endorsing the Siddha Conspiracy Report?" Kumaraswamy said.
Siddha is apparently referred to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
“I do not support this report. I am fully prepared to fight against this injustice,” the Minister added.
The Socio-Economic and Educational Survey, caste census in short, was presented before the Karnataka cabinet on April 11.
The report was commissioned by Siddaramaiah during his first term as Chief Minister in 2015. H Kantharaj had initially started the work which was carried forward by former Minister K Jayaprakash. The report was submitted to the Chief Minister in February 2024.
The Chief Minister said there would be a detailed discussion on the report in a special cabinet meeting on April 17.
