Five-star Starc overshadows hat-trick man Boult as Aus crush NZ
Australia beat New Zealand by 86 runs
London, Jun 30: Pace spearhead Trent Boult's historic hat-trick went in vain as Mitchell Starc's brilliant five-for helped Australia crush trans-Tasman rivals New Zealand by 86 runs in a World Cup match here and consolidate their spot at the top.
In what was a rematch of the 2015 final between the trans-Tasman rivals at Lord's on Saturday, Kiwi left-arm pacer Boult hogged the limelight with a sensational last-over hat-trick to stop Australia's rebuilding job at 243 for nine.
With his swinging full-pitched deliveries, Boult sent back the well-settled Usman Khawaja (88 off 129 balls), Micthell Starc and Jason Behrendorff, while giving away just two runs of the last over to become the first Kiwi to grab a hat-trick in the World Cup.
But New Zealand, who are yet to qualify for the semifinals, crumbled in front of Starc, tournament's best bowler so far, who returned with brilliant figures of 5 for 26, and were bundled out for 157 in 43.4 overs.
By virtue of the win, defending champions Australia, who are already through to the semifinals, have consolidated their position at the top with 14 points from eight games.
Australia will finish their league campaign against already-eliminated South Africa on July 6.
New Zealand have now dropped to the third spot with 11 points from eight games and are yet to confirm their berth in the knock-out round. They will take on tournament hosts England in their crucial last game on July 3.
Chasing Australia's total, the Kiwis were dealt early blows by Jason Behrendorff (2/31) as he removed both David Warner and Aaron Finch before Starc joined the party.
Skipper Kane Williamson (40) and Ross Taylor (30) tried hard but came out second-best as New Zealand suffered its second loss in the tournament.
Earlier, Boult (4/51 in 10 overs) struck after Khawaja and Alex Carey (71 off 72 balls) scored contrasting fifties to lift Australia from a disastrous start after opting to bat.
Australia lost half their side with less than 100 runs on the board, but a 107-run partnership for the sixth wicket between Khawaja and Carey helped them rebuild.
It was a rare occasion when the opening duo of Warner and Finch, in red-hot from entering this game, failed to fire.
While Finch (8) was the first to go, tapped in front by Boult, Warner departed after making 16 to leave Australia in a spot of bother at 38 for two in the 10th over, and it became worse when Steve Smith was sent back by Lockie Ferguson with the scorecard reading a precarious 46 for three in the 12th over.
Marcus Stoinis (21) and Khawaja attempted a recovery act before Jimmy Neesham derailed it.
Glenn Maxwell flopped again, this time failing to even open his account as Australia stared down the barrel.
Australia were in dire need of a partnership and Carey and Khawaja provided just that with a century stand.
Carey smashed 11 boundaries during his fluent knock, while Khawaja found the fence five times during his sedate innings.
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Telangana CM urges Amit Shah to increase sanctioned strength of IPS officers in state
Hyderabad (PTI): Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi on Wednesday night and urged him to increase the sanctioned strength of IPS officers to the state in view of its growing administrative and security needs.
The two leaders also discussed the recent surrender of several senior Maoist leaders before the Telangana Police and other issues.
"During the meeting, the two leaders discussed the issue of Maoist surrenders and their rehabilitation. The chief minister informed Shah that significant improvements in policing have taken place in Telangana over the past two years," an official release here said.
Highlighting that 591 Maoists have laid down their arms and joined the mainstream of society during this period, the chief minister said the state government was providing them compensation and rehabilitation assistance as per the rules.
He requested the Union home minister to extend financial support from the central government for development works in the backward regions of the state.
Reddy also urged Shah to increase the sanctioned strength of IPS officers to the state from 83 to 105 in line with the state's growing administrative and security needs, the statement said.
The first cadre review after the formation of Telangana was conducted in 2016, while the next review, due in 2021, was delayed and finally carried out in 2025. Even then, only seven additional IPS officers were allocated to the state, the chief minister informed Shah and requested that the third cadre review be conducted in 2026 as per the schedule.
Reddy explained that Telangana, like the rest of the country, is facing several modern challenges, including cybercrime, drug trafficking, white-collar crimes, and other emerging security threats.
He highlighted the reorganisation of the Hyderabad, Cyberabad, and Malkajgiri Police Commissionerates, the proposed formation of the Future City Commissionerate and the rapidly growing population in Hyderabad to underline the increasing administrative requirements of the state.
