Zimbabwe enter T20WC Super 8s after washout against Ireland
Pallekele (PTI): Zimbabwe on Tuesday entered the Super 8 stage of the T20 World Cup after their crucial Group B match against Ireland was washed out due to rain, a result that also eliminated former champions Australia and Ireland from the tournament.
Both teams were awarded one point each. The shared points took Zimbabwe to five, enough to secure a Super 8 berth. They will face India in their opening Super 8 match on February 26 in Chennai.
Zimbabwe became the seventh team to get a ticket to the Super 8s, completing group G1 also comprising India, South Africa and West Indies.
Zimbabwe will play their final group match against co-hosts Sri Lanka on February 19.
With table-toppers Sri Lanka (6) having already qualified for the Super 8s, the contest held significant importance for Zimbabwe and Ireland, who had come into the game with four and two points respectively.
Australia were also on two points following their defeats to Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka.
The former champions needed Zimbabwe to lose both their remaining matches to stay in contention, but persistent rain ended their hopes.
The toss at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium was initially delayed due to drizzle, with the ground remaining under covers for a considerable period.
However, continuous rain and a wet outfield prevented any play, confirming Zimbabwe's progression to the Super 8 stage.
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Rahul Gandhi calls Great Nicobar Island project a ‘major threat’ to environment, tribal heritage
Sri Vijaypuram (Port Blair)/ Nicobar: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi criticised the Centre’s development initiative in Great Nicobar Island on Wednesday, On his maiden visit to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Gandhi alleged that the project will lad to large-scale environmental degradation and displacement of local communities.
The Rae Bareli MP, in a post on X after visiting the island, said the project would lead to extensive deforestation and adversely impact indigenous populations.
“So I will say it plainly, and I will keep saying it: what is being done in Great Nicobar is one of the biggest scams and gravest crimes against this country’s natural and tribal heritage in our lifetime,” Gandhi added.
“The government calls what it is doing here a ‘Project’. What I have seen is not a project. It is millions of trees marked for the axe… It is communities that have been ignored while their homes have been snatched away,” Gandhi said.
Describing the initiative as “destruction dressed in development’s language”, he termed it one of the “biggest scams” against the country’s natural and tribal heritage and called for it to be stopped.
Gandhi also claimed that nearly 160 square kilometres of rainforest could be affected, raising concerns over ecological damage.
