Ben Stokes and Sam Curran starred as England edged Pakistan by five wickets to win the Twenty20 World Cup on November 13, 2022 and become cricket’s first dual white-ball champions, holding both the 50 and 20-over titles.
Jos Buttler’s side held Pakistan to 137-8 in front of a partisan 80,462 fans at a heaving Melbourne Cricket Ground, with player-of-the-match Curran bagging 3-12 and Adil Rashid chipping with 2-22.
In reply, England slumped to 49-3 in the sixth over as they struggled to get any momentum against a fiery pace attack, with boundaries hard to come by but Stokes (52 not out) and Moeen Ali (19) used their experience and cool heads to guide England to 138-5 with six balls to spare, climaxing a riveting tournament that spanned 45 games over nearly a month.
The game was billed as a showdown between Pakistan’s attack and England’s top order, and Shaheen Afridi bowled danger man Alex Hales in the first over of the run chase. But that only fired up Buttler who smashed two boundaries off Naseem Shah.
Phil Salt, playing in place of the injured Dawid Malan, didn’t last, making just 10 before pulling Haris Rauf to Iftikhar Ahmed.
The ball was swinging and seaming and the menacing Rauf claimed the key wicket of Buttler just as he was getting in, edging to wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan on 26 off 17 balls.
The runs dried up and Harry Brook needed treatment for a blow to his elbow but he soldiered on as they reached 77-3 at the halfway point of the innings, compared to Pakistan’s 68-2.
Brook came undone on 20 against the spin of Shadab Khan, holing out to Afridi as he tried to get the scoreboard moving. It came down to needing 41 runs off the final five overs. Stokes relieved the pressure with a four and a six off Ahmed and there was no stopping them with the England all-rounder hitting the winning runs.
Gujarat Assembly polls | BJP faces protests, rebellion as senior leaders denied tickets
The ruling BJP in Gujarat is grappling to pacify rebels in over a dozen seats as the party is bringing in new faces to replace old guards for the upcoming Assembly polls.
Outgoing party MLA Madhu Srivastav from Vaghodia in Vadodara has resigned from the party after he was denied a ticket from his pocket borough from where he has won six times and is now set to contest as an independent candidate. He even refused to meet Minister Harsh Sanghavi, who has been asked to manage Srivastav and two other leaders who have also been denied tickets and are now on warpath with the party.
The BJP has so far declared 166 candidates in which as many as 40 sitting legislators have been dropped including several top ministers in a bid to bring in new faces to cut down anti incumbency.
But the exercise has riled the party’s cadres and leaders who have held protests in their local areas, rushed to the party headquarters in Gandhinagar, and even went to the media publicly venting their anger towards the leadership.
Former BJP MLA and the party’s known tribal face Harshad Vasava had already filed his nomination papers on Friday as an independent from ST reserved Nandod seat. He contended that the loyal and committed party workers were overlooked while imports from other parties were given prominence in the selection process.
Jaishankar discusses Ukraine conflict, Indo-Pacific with Blinken in Cambodia
External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar met with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday and discussed the Ukraine conflict, the strategic Indo-Pacific region and bilateral relations on the sidelines of the ASEAN-India summit in the Cambodian capital.
Jaishankar is accompanying Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar, who is leading the Indian delegation to the ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit and the 17th East Asia Summit.
“A good meeting with U.S. Secretary of State @SecBlinken. Discussed Ukraine, Indo-Pacific, energy, G20 and bilateral relations,” Jaishankar tweeted. He met UN chief António Guterres at the end of the ASEAN gala dinner and also held talks with his counterpart from Thailand Don Pramudwinai.
“Always nice to catch up with DPM & FM Don Pramudwinai of Thailand. Discussed our shared regional concerns and the strengthening partnership with ASEAN,” the EAM said.
“Met Canadian colleagues Trade Minister @mary_ng and FM @melaniejoly at the ASEAN gala dinner. All for greater trade and strategic convergence, while countering terrorism and opposing radicalization,” Jaishankar said in another tweet. He discussed a range of issues with his counterparts from Canada, Indonesia and Singapore.
Punjab bans public display of firearms, songs glorifying weapons
The Punjab government on Sunday banned public display of firearms and songs promoting gun culture and violence and also ordered a review of arms licences within the next three months.
Directions were also issued for registration of an FIR against those indulging in hate speech against any community, the government said in an order.
The AAP government in Punjab has been receiving flak from the opposition parties in the State for the alleged deteriorating law and order situation. The state witnessed two major incidents — killing of Shiv Sena (Taksali) leader Sudhir Suri on November 4 and Dera Sacha Sauda follower Pardeep Singh on November 10.
The Home department in a missive to police head, commissioners of police and senior superintendents of police said the CM had issued directions to take steps to maintain law and order in the state.
According to the order, songs which glorify weapons and violence should be completely banned. There should also be a complete ban on public display of weapons including on social media. Further, carrying and displaying weapons at public gatherings, religious places, wedding ceremonies and other events, should be banned.
The government said that a review of arm licences within three months should be done and licences issued to wrong persons should be cancelled immediately. It also directed for surprise checks at different places.
G20 ministers launch billion-dollar pandemic fund at Indonesian summit
G20 health and finance ministers launched a $1.4-billion fund to tackle the next global pandemic ahead of the bloc’s leaders gathering for a summit on the Indonesian resort island of Bali, while the host’s President said it was not enough.
The 24-nation fund is viewed as one of the early global outcomes of the summit next week where little progress is expected on the Ukraine crisis with Russian President Vladimir Putin not in attendance.
Janet Yellen, U.S. Secretary of Treasury speaks during the launching of the pandemic fund, ahead of the G20 Summit in Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia. | Photo Credit: Reuters
It was launched at a news conference opened by Indonesian President Joko Widodo and addressed by World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and World Bank President David Malpass.
“The G20 agrees to build a pandemic fund to prevent and prepare for a pandemic. Donors from G20 and non-G20 members, as well as philanthropic organisations, have contributed to the funds. But it is not enough,” Widodo said in a video address. He said $31 billion was required to tackle the next global pandemic.
The United States has contributed $450 million to the fund, nearly a third of the total. U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the joint fund was an example of what the G20 can do to tackle global problems. The fund’s major donors include the United States, Britain, India, China, France, Canada, Australia and Japan.
Indonesia was at one point an epicentre of the COVID-19 pandemic when a wave of Delta strain cases hit the country in mid-2021.
In Brief
An explosion in Istanbul’s Istiklal Avenue, a popular pedestrian thoroughfare, killed four people and injured 38, authorities said. The cause of the blast was not immediately clear. Five prosecutors were assigned to investigate the explosion, state-run Anadolu news agency reported. A video posted online showed flames erupting and a loud bang, as pedestrians turned and ran away. Other footage showed ambulances, fire trucks and police at the scene. Social media users said shops were shuttered and the avenue closed down. Turkey’s media watchdog imposed a temporary ban on reporting on the explosion. Istanbul Governor Ali Yerlikaya tweeted the death toll and said those hurt were being treated.
Evening Wrap will return tomorrow.
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