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Cricket World Cup Match preview – India v West Indies: Can India remain unbeaten?

After New Zealand lost to Pakistan, India remains the unbeaten team of this World Cup but can they keep the tag against West Indies too? A win here will almost confirm their slot for the semis.

India has played much better than any team in this World Cup, and despite the hiccups against Afghanistan, they remained unbeaten. Kohli has previously said that the team takes one game at a time. This game will be no difference to them, and this team is known for going hard at the opponents from the very first ball.

India has been tremendous in all three departments, which makes them the most lethal Indian team of recent times. Especially the bowling has improved a lot with the inclusion of Bumrah, Kuldeep and Chahal. The middle order is a little weak and was tested in the last game against Afghanistan. The team management may play Pant ahead of Shankar for more stability in the middle order.

West Indies has nothing to lose. They are almost out of this World Cup and no chance to reach the semis. Well, they are themselves to be blamed for this situation. They have lost matches from winning positions too many times because of their brain fade batting and bowling. All they can do now is spoil the party of other teams now.

Players to watch out

Virat Kohli is due for a big score, although he has scored three consecutive half-centuries in the tournament, anything less than a century is considered as a failure for him, such is the standard he has set. He has scored three consecutive hundreds against West Indies in the bilateral ODI series at home, so he knows the bowlers well, and he is hungry too.

Jason Holder must be pretty disappointed with the team’s performance. He tried his best but couldn’t motivate the team enough to win the matches. He would like to end the tournament on a high note and may play a part in both batting and bowling. Even though Brathwaite scored a sensational hundred in the previous game, Holder still remains the best West Indies all-rounder of the team.

India v West Indies in ODIs:

Overall: Matches 129, India Won 59, West Indies Won 62, Tied 2, No Result 3

World Cup: Matches 8, India Won 5, West Indies Won 3

Recent Form (most recent first): India W W NR W W, West Indies L L L NR L

ICC Rankings: India (1), West Indies (9)

Upcoming Records:

Kohli needs just 37 runs to become the quickest to reach 20,000 International runs milestone. He will be the fastest to reach the milestone.

Virat Kohli needs 30 runs to become the third highest run scorer for India in World Cup after Tendulkar and Ganguly.

Hardik Pandya needs two wickets to reach 50 wickets milestone in ODIs.

Squads:

India: Virat Kohli (capt), Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal, Shikhar Dhawan, MS Dhoni (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Kedar Jadhav, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Hardik Pandya, KL Rahul, Mohammed Shami, Vijay Shankar, Rohit Sharma, Kuldeep Yadav.

West Indies: Jason Holder (capt), Fabian Allen, Carlos Brathwaite, Darren Bravo, Sheldon Cottrell, Shannon Gabriel, Chris Gayle, Shimron Hetmyer, Shai Hope (wk), Evin Lewis, Ashley Nurse, Nicholas Pooran, Kemar Roach, Andre Russell, Oshane Thomas.

AAP led Delhi Waqf Board promises money, govt job to Jharkhand’s Tabrez’s wife while Delhi’s Ankit Saxena’s father awaits compensation

After failing to fulfil promises made to Ankit Saxena’s parents, the Delhi AAP government led by Arvind Kejriwal has now resorted to appeasement politics by promising employment to the wife of Tabrez Ansari, who was allegedly killed by a mob in Jharkhand.

Reportedly, a panel of Delhi Wakf Board which is Chaired by AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan on Thursday said it has decided to give Rs 5 lakh and a government job to the wife of 24-year-old Tabrez Ansari who was allegedly killed by a mob in Jharkhand. The Wakf Board chairman also said they will help Ansari’s wife get legal aid.

“We are trying to send a cheque of Rs 5 lakh to Tabrez’s wife. I may also go there to hand over the cheque to her. We will also give her a job at the Wakf board and provide her legal help,” said Amanatullah Khan

Shockingly, the decision of the Delhi Wakf Board comes at a time when the Delhi government is facing a backlash for its failure to provide compensation as promised to the parents of Ankit Saxena, a Delhi-based photographer who was brutally murdered in February last year by his Muslim girlfriend’s family who did not approve of the inter-religious love affair.

Recently, Yashpal Saxena, father of Ankit’s father had expressed his disappointment at Delhi government for not keeping up the promises. Yashpal Saxena had said that they have not received any of the promised compensation from Delhi government.

Adding how the Delhi CM has let him down, he had wondered if the rift between the two communities would have helped him get early compensation. Yashpal Saxena after getting deceived by Arvind Kejriwal government had said he was broken after AAP government defaulted on their promise of providing both legal and financial help.

Rebel AAP leader Kapil Mishra questioned Kejriwal’s intentions ahead of Delhi Assembly elections and accused him of Muslim appeasement.


Meanwhile, media reports came out about Delhi government’s insensitivity towards Ankit Saxena’s family, AAP had said that it will expedite the file for Ankit Saxena’s family’s compensation and financial assistance.

The first time in 30 years, no bandh in Jammu and Kashmir on Union Home Minister visit

For the first time in 30 years, there is no call for bandh in Jammu and Kashmir during the visit of the Union Home Minister in the state. The Home Minister Amit Shah reached Srinagar yesterday for a two-day visit to review the situation in the state and the security arrangements made for the Amarnath Yatra.

Reportedly, Amit Shah is set to meet state party leaders, delegations of civil society and Panchayat members besides paying obeisance at the Amarnathji Shrine. During a security meeting, he had urged all agencies to continue with their tough approach against militants and rioters. He is also scheduled to meet the J&K Governer Satya Pal Malik.

Separatist groups are notorious for calling for a bandh whenever a Union Minister visits the state. Surprisingly after 30 years, neither factions of the Hurriyat Conference led by Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq have called for a bandh. As per reports, all leaders of the separatist groups have been silent with Amit Shah’s arrival on Wednesday.

The silence may have been due to the recent crackdown on separatist leaders. The NIA had recently nailed top separatist leaders, some of who have admitted their involvement in a terror funding case.

Terror activities continue to prevail in the state. 3 CRPF jawans were martyred and several others were injured when a patrol team of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) came under terrorist attack in Anantnag two weeks ago.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah had previously tabled the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation (Amendment) Bill. The bill seeks to amend the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation Act, 2004, which provides for reservation in appointment and admission in professional institutions for persons belonging to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and socially and educationally backward classes.

Nirav Modi’s 4 bank accounts having cumulative funds of USD 6 million frozen by Swiss authorities

The Modi Government has persistently been after fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi ever since he fled India after the PNB bank fraud of Rs 13,000 crores unearthed. In another significant development, Nirav Modi’s four Swiss accounts have been frozen by Swiss authorities following the request of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) under the PMLA act.


The ED had appealed to the Government of Switzerland four months ago to freeze Nirav Modi’s accounts after it traced the transfer of Rs 286 crore from Punjab National Bank (PNB) to Swiss Bank.

Two accounts belong to Nirav Modi, and the other two belong to his sister Purvi Modi. The accounts are reportedly having deposit balances of US $ 3,74,11,596 and GBP27,38,136 (Rs 283.16 crore).

The ED informed that they are in the process of attaching other foreign assets of the fugitive diamantaire who is believed to have at least 80-85 shell companies and around 200 bank accounts, which could be in Switzerland as well as in British Virgin island and also in Cayman Island.

Moreover, based on a similar request by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), Belgian authorities had also frozen two bank accounts of Nirav Modi companies last year.

As per reports, the investigating agencies until last year had been able to freeze assets worth over Rs 7,670 crore in the Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi case which includes valuables worth over Rs 5,734 crore.

The ED itself has carried out searches in over 255 premises across the country and Rs 71 crore in his bank accounts has also been frozen. “Shares of Gitanjali Gems Limited worth Rs 101 crore and investments by Nirav Modi worth Rs 23 crores have also been frozen,” they confirmed.

Nirav Modi is set to appear for remand hearing today in London. He is currently lodged in UK jail after being arrested in March. So far he has tried to get bail four times, but have been unsuccessful in each of them.

On March 22, 2019, the ED had filed supplementary charge sheet against Nirav Modi’s sister, Purvi Modi, alleging that she helped the fugitive to divert Rs 1201 crores through shell firms. In the supplementary charge sheet filed before the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court, the ED has claimed that Rs 1,201.18 crore was diverted with the active participation of Purvi, Nirav Modi’s sister.

Moreover, the agency had also attached her savings account with the syndicate bank which had a balance of Rs 1.96 crore.

Investigators had revealed that Purvi, a Belgian citizen, was the point person handling Nirav’s money. She was the third in the family to have Red Corner Notice against her. Interpol’s Loyn office had in September, last year, on the request of the ED, issued a Red Corner Notice against absconding diamond businessman Nirav Modi’s sister Purvi Modi in connection with the Punjab National Bank scam.

Since the fraud came to light, the agencies have been in a relentless pursuit to extradite the fugitive Nirav Modi, back to India.

Mamata Banerjee reaches out to Congress and CPI(M) seeking support in her fight against BJP in Bengal, rebuffed

Desperate times call for desperate measures. Such is the case with West Bengal Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee, who has now approached her arch-rivals, Congress and the CPI(M) to join her in her fight against BJP in Bengal.

While speaking during the debate on the governor’s address in the state assembly Mamata Banerjee said, “The people of the state are witnessing in Bhatpara what happens if you vote for the BJP. I feel all of us (TMC, Congress and CPI(M)) should come together in the fight against the BJP. It doesn’t mean we have to join hands politically, but on common issues at the national level, we can come together.”

The TMC supremo accused BJP of trying to run a parallel government and bringing in an alien culture in West Bengal. “Central government is trying to run parallel administration. From the last five years, we are fighting and we will continue to fight. We did not want post-poll violence. BJP had run parallel administration as police and all was under the Election Commission,” Banerjee said.

However, coming as a big letdown, the two parties have rejected her appeal saying her policies are responsible for the saffron party’s growth in Bengal. Senior Congress leader from West Bengal Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said that it is Mamata Banerjee’s habit to say something and gom back on her words, saying it’s her nature. He said that if the WB CM was serious, she would have talked to Congress leadership directly.

What is strange here is that Mamata Banerjee who rose to power in West Bengal in 2011 by ousting the CPI(M) has always been a staunch critic of the left party. There have been innumerable instances where Mamata has in the past fulminated against the communists.

In the run-up to the West Bengal Assembly elections in 2011, Mamata had accused the then-ruling CPI(M) of having ‘looted crores’ in West Bengal over the last three decades. Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee had then said all ‘dirty deals’ would be probed if her party comes to power.

On July 19, 2011, a day after the historic Darjeeling accord was signed, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had gone all out, lashing at the CPI(M) and regional parties based in north Bengal for opposing the treaty. In 2016 also Mamata had hit out at the left government, accusing it of “leaving behind the ideology of Marx and Lenin for a few seats”.

Moreover, the relationship between Mamata and the Congress party has always been an opportunistic and hedonistic one. There have been instances where Congress president has extended Twitter-based ‘shoulder to shoulder’ support to West Bengal Chief Minister against CBI probe in Saradha chit fund scam, whereas on the other hand, the state Congress chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhary has gone ahead and called the WB CM a ‘chameleon’, ‘trojan horse’ and ‘dictator’.

Similarly, in February this year, while Rahul Gandhi was quick to lend his support to the Trinamool supremo, over the drama that transpired over the detainment of CBI officials by the state police, making a remarkable U-Turn from his earlier stand on the matter where he had accused her of protecting the accused, the state unit had planned to organise a massive rally against the TMC government for their alleged involvement in chit fund scams.

In fact prior to the Lok Sabah elections, while Rahul Gandhi had expressed his support for Mamata Banerjee to call upon the opposition leaders for “United India Rally”, the Congress state unit had expressed its strong disapproval of allying with Mamata Banerjee’s party.

Also, Mamata Banerjee has probably chosen to forget those days when she went hammer and tongs against the Congress accusing them of bowing their heads to CPI(M) which had once used “abusive words” against former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.

Probably, the anxiety TMC supremo is undergoing after BJP has successfully penetrated into West Bengal securing 18 seats in the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections has forced Mamata to look the other way.

Ramalingam murder case: NIA arrests Myden Ahmed Shali, head of the ‘Dawah’ team linked to PFI

In a crucial development, the National Investigation Agency has arrested an accused named Shali alias Myden Ahmed Shali, a 51-year-old resident of Thenkasi, Tamil Nadu, in connection with the murder of activist Ramalingam. Shali was arrested from Ernakulam.

According to a report in One India, the NIA arrested a Muslim man named Myden Ahmed Shali, the head of one ‘Dawah’ team, for the killing of 42-year-old Hindu activist and PMK leader Ramalingam on the morning of 5th February 2019 at Pakku Vinayagam Thoppu in Kumbakonam, Thanjavur district, Tamil Nadu. Reports say that the Dawah team headed by Shali had confronted Ramalingam on the day of the murder.

The accused Ahmed Shali had allegedly brutally murdered Hindu activist Ramalingam after the latter had attempted to stop the forceful religious conversions in the area. According to NIA, Shali had regularly attended the conspiracy meetings of the Islamists organisations PFI and SDPI, wherein the attack against Ramalingam was planned.

Earlier, the NIA has stated the motive was not only to limited to brutally killing Ramalingam but also to create communal tensions. The NIA had even stated that the murder of Ramalingam was a terrorist act, as he was killed for opposing religious conversion by Muslim preachers. Most of the accused belonged to PFI.

“The investigation revealed that the accused persons had hatched criminal conspiracy, recruited persons, collected weapon, collected vehicles etc, for committing the terrorist act and acted themselves as a terrorist gang. Moreover, the statements of witnesses, as well as the confession of the accused persons, reveal that they were in promotion of ‘Jihadi’ activities which has to be probed further during the course of the investigation,” the NIA report had read.

Earlier in May, the NIA had arrested another PFI member named Mohammad Faruk in connection with the murder. Tamil Nadu police had earlier arrested 10 persons before NIA took over the case.

Video and statistical highlights from New Zealand v Pakistan match

World Cup is alive, and so is Pakistan. A 6 wicket victory over New Zealand has brought the smiles on the faces of every Pakistani cricket fan. Probably for the first time they will root for India in the World Cup match when India plays against England on Sunday.

For Pakistan to remain in the hunt for the semi-final spot, they have to depend on how India plays, especially against England. Also, the comparisons from World Cup 1992 are going at another level now. Even the run-outs and how many balls left when they won in 1992 is compared to this World Cup.

After winning the toss, New Zealand opted to bat first in overcast conditions. The decision backfired as they lost half of their team for less than 100 including their in-form batsman Kane Williamson.

Shaheen Afridi produced one of the best bowling spells of this World Cup, he took first 3 wickets out of 4 which fell in the first 15 overs. He also bowled three maiden overs in that spell.

The Twitter King James Neesham pulled out the Kiwis from being bowled out for less than 150, he (97 not out) added 132 runs with Colin de Grandhomme (64) for the sixth wicket. New Zealand ends its innings at 237 for six wickets in 50 overs.

Pakistan is known for crumbling under pressure during the chase, but they batted beautifully. Especially Babar Azam, who cracked his maiden World Cup Hundred and first Pakistani middle order batsman to score a hundred in World Cup after 32 years.

He played some beautiful cover drives, and his back-foot square-cut shots were as good as anyone can get.

Having lost both the openers in the first ten overs, Babar first steadied the innings with Hafeez (32), and then his partnership with Haris Sohail (68) nullified all the efforts from Kiwi bowlers and fielders.

Sohail got run out when needed two runs to win, but captain Sarfaraz completed the formality by scoring a boundary to secure a win and 2 points in the match.

STATS

  • Babar Azam becomes the 2nd fastest to reach 3000 ODI runs. He achieved the milestone in 68 innings. The quickest is Hashim Amla of South Africa who reached 3000 ODI runs in just 57 innings.
  • Babar Azam becomes only the 5th middle order batsman from Pakistan to score a World Cup hundred, and the last was Saleem Malik who scored 100 against Sri Lanka way back in 1987.
  • Babar Azam (24 years and 254 days old) also becomes the second youngest World Cup centurion for Pakistan. The record is held by Saleem Malik who scored a hundred at the age of 24 years and 192 days.

Not our car, not our man: Delhi Police’s clarification over viral TikTok video

A TikTok video went viral on social media yesterday, in which a man could be seen getting out of a moving vehicle and performing push-ups on the car. The stunt was performed in a vacant area. However, the car had a beacon light mounted on the top and ‘Delhi Police’ written on the bonnet. Users on social media demanded action against the man for performing the stunt on a police vehicle.


The Delhi Traffic Police had responded saying that the complaint has already been forwarded to senior officers for taking necessary action.


Now, the Delhi Police has clarified that the vehicle that was used for the stunt was of a private contractor, hired for certain duties and it wasn’t a Delhi Police vehicle. The person performing the stunt was not a policeman but a friend of the private driver of the hired vehicle.


Reportedly, a show cause notice has been issued to the private contractor and action will soon be taken against him. The police have said that the video appears to be old and have said that they are also going through the profile of the person who uploaded the video to get more details about the incident.

Singer Chinmayi Sripada resorts to spreading fake news targeting Uttar Pradesh police, UP police schools her with facts

Singer Chinmayi Sripada was on Tuesday caught propagating fake news against Uttar Pradesh police.

In a tweet, Chinamyi Sripada posted an image of a news report claiming that a 37-year old woman, an alleged gangrape victim, was asked to have sex with an Uttar Pradesh police officer before registering a case.


In her hurry to attack the Uttar Pradesh police, perhaps Chinamyi resorted to disregarding the facts of the case. Firstly, the case which Chinamyi refers to, it had happened two years back in 2017 and not in 2019. Secondly, the case has already seen a logical end with claims of the alleged victim being found untrue.

As Chinamayi resorted to false propaganda, the Uttar Pradesh police stepped into action to school her with facts pertaining to the case.


According to the UP police, the incident had occurred in Rampur, UP when the victim had initially lodged a gang-rape case against two men – Ameer Ahmad and Sattar Ahmad.

Jai Prakash, the sub-inspector of Rampur’s Ganj police station, after carrying out the investigation found that the woman had lodged a fake rape case against two men. Subsequently, the police inspector filed a closure report.

After her fake gang-rape was busted by the sub-inspector, the woman in question, with the help of her friend planned to file a case against SI Jai Prakash. The woman lodged a complaint against the police officer claiming that the police inspector had demanded sexual favours in exchange for a complaint to be registered in the gang-rape case against the two men.

The Uttar Pradesh police conducted an investigation pertaining to the case and had found that the woman, along with her friend had faked the call to accuse sub-inspector Jai Prakash of sexual harassment. Mohammad Rafi, the friend of the woman had confessed to the police officials that the whole plan was a setup to take revenge on the sub-inspector, Jai Prakash after he had exposed the woman.

However, despite the facts being presented to her, Chinmayi resorted to questioning the due process insinuating since the accused and the investigating agency remain part of UP Police, there may not have been a fair inquiry.

Meanwhile, the UP Police again patiently explained it to her that she ought to have checked the 2017 template wherein it was mentioned that the lady who had accused the SI of demanding sexual favours had given a number from which she got the alleged called which turned out to be her friend’s.

AIMIM’s revenge over Tabrez Ansari? Village women allege party men threatened them of rape and bomb blast

After the unfortunate death of Tabrez Ansari after an attack by a mob in Jharkhand’s Sareikela, it has now been alleged that some members of Asaduddin Owaisi’s AIMIM party have been threatening the villagers of rape, loot and violence.

As per reports, 34 women in the Dhatkidih village in Saraikela, Jharkhand, have lodged an FIR in the local police station alleging that on the evening of 24 June, some unknown people had arrived in the village in four-wheelers and had threatened the villagers with violence and rape. As per a report in News 18, over 30 people had come in several vehicles sporting AIMIM flags.

The women had alleged that the unknown persons entered houses and threatened that they will rape the women and blow up their houses. The men also allegedly proceeded to attack a nearby temple and damaged the religious flags. The villagers have alleged that the vehicle had a board of AIMIM party and the men who had come in it were shouting the slogans of “Aftab Ahmed Siddiqui Zindabad”, and “Asaduddin Owaisi Zindabad”.

The women have alleged that after the threats, the men in the village have gone into hiding after the Tabrez Ansari case was highlighted by the media all over the nation and the police started making arrests. Local people also say that a lot of rumours are being spread about the persons in the village and the administration should move to check the spread of fake news and rumour mongering.

The local BJP unit has stated that police has been arresting innocent men and the real culprits are roaming free. Local villagers have also demanded that ‘outsiders’ should be denied entry to the village as some politically motivated elements have been attempting to fan discord in the local communities.

Tabrez Ansari was allegedly beaten up by some villagers on suspicion of theft. He was later taken into police custody and had expired in a hospital on 22 June. The village head has stated that Tabrez had come to the village along with other thieves to steal and was captured by the villagers while other thieves managed to run away.