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IND v SA, 4th T20I: Avesh, Karthik, Hardik star in India’s 82-run thrashing of South Africa; level series 2-2

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On the back of a blistering 55 from Dinesh Karthik and Avesh Khan scalping 4/18, India thrashed South Africa by 82 runs at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium here on Friday.

Despite losing the toss for the fourth time in a row, India ended up on the winning side, meaning that the hosts levelled the five-match series 2-2, with Sunday’s match at Bengaluru now a winner takes it all affair.

After Karthik’s career-best efforts of 27-ball 55, hitting nine fours and two sixes at a strike-rate of 203.7 apart from sharing a 65-run stand off 33 balls with Hardik Pandya (46 off 31 balls) propelled India to a competitive 169/6, South Africa were never in the chase from the word go, with only three batters reaching double figures and crashed to 87 all out in 16.5 overs, with Avesh being pick of bowlers with his career-best figures in this format of the game.

With India’s bowlers hitting hard lengths consistently, seamers finding variable bounce and spinners keeping things tight while getting hint of turn, it was difficult for South Africa to chase 170. It was the bounce which hit captain Temba Bavuma on the shoulder off Bhuvneshwar Kumar. But while taking a single off Avesh Khan, Bavuma injured his left elbow and had to retire hurt for eight.

With the visitors struggling with their timing and Bavuma leaving the crease, one could feel that South Africa could slip in trouble. A massive mix-up for a quick single resulted in Quinton de Kock run-out for 14. In the next over, Dwaine Pretorius tried to break free from dot-ball pressure by slogging but was caught behind off Avesh Khan for a six-ball duck.

Heinrich Klassen survived an lbw appeal on umpire’s call off Axar Patel in the eighth over. But in the next over, he failed to connect with the sweep off Yuzvendra Chahal and was trapped plumb in front of stumps. David Miller was the next batter to fall as Harshal got one to jag in and uproot the off-stump. In the 14th over, Avesh ensured that the South African challenge was as good as over.

He had Rassie van der Dussen holing out to deep mid-wicket, then rattled Marco Jansen with a bouncer and got him holing out to the same region on the very next ball. Avesh closed the over by having Keshav Maharaj caught easily at mid-on. Chahal and Axar wrapped up the innings by taking a wicket each to complete India’s thrashing of the Proteas.

Earlier, Karthik and Pandya’s efforts in the back end of the innings brought India a whopping 73 runs in the last five overs. This was in total contrast of them being 81/4 in 12.5 overs, especially losing the top-order in the first seven overs.

Ruturaj Gaikwad pushed hesitantly to back of a length ball from Lungi Ngidi, with the extra bounce taking edge to de Kock. Shreyas Iyer’s struggle against South Africa seamers continued when he was trapped lbw by an inswinger from debutant left-arm pacer Marco Jansen. Ishan Kishan hit Jansen for three fours and a six but fell immediately after power-play ended, undone by extra bounce off Anrich Nortje, edging behind to de Kock.

Rishabh Pant found it hard to break free and was almost dismissed in the 12th over when Maharaj flew to his right at backward point but couldn’t hold on. Pandya closed the over by clobbering Tabraiz Shamsi for successive wristy sixes over mid-wicket. Down on one knee, Pant tried to swipe a wide delivery off Maharaj, only to top-edge to short third man, making it Pant’s fourth straight dismissal to balls wide of off-stump.

After sweeping Maharaj for a boundary, Karthik smacked Anrich Nortje for a brace of fours through the off-side while Pandya cut through backward point to take 15 runs off the 16th over. Karthik went to smash three fours off Maharaj through sweep, reverse sweep and bisecting long-on and long-off perfectly.

It was Pretorius’ turn to be taken to cleaners by Karthik, slogging over deep square leg, followed by brace of fours with cut and sweep. Though Pandya fell by slicing to running third man off Ngidi, Karthik brought up his maiden T20I fifty by smoking Pretorius over cow corner for six, much to delight of the crowd. Despite Karthik picking deep square leg to perfection, it was sufficient for India to grab a much-needed win.

Brief Scores: India 169/6 in 20 overs (Dinesh Karthik 55, Hardik Pandya 46; Lungi Ngidi 2/20, Anrich Nortje 1/21) beat South Africa 87 all out in 16.5 overs (Rassie van der Dussen 20, Quinton de Kock 14, Avesh Khan 4/18, Yuzvendra Chahal 2/21) by 82 runs

International

Murder of Hindu leader: India slams Bangladesh, says killing follows pattern of systematic persecution of Hindu minorities

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New Delhi, April 19: India on Saturday issued a sharp condemnation of the abduction and brutal killing of Bhabesh Chandra Roy, a prominent Hindu community leader in northern Bangladesh, calling it part of a “pattern of systematic persecution” of minorities under the country’s interim government.

Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal voiced India’s grave concern, stating that the incident reflects an alarming trend of targetted violence against Hindus and other minority groups in Bangladesh.

“We have noted with distress the abduction and brutal killing of Shri Bhabesh Chandra Roy, a Hindu minority leader in Bangladesh. This killing follows a pattern of systematic persecution of Hindu minorities under the interim government, even as the perpetrators of previous such events roam with impunity,” Jaiswal said in a post on social media platform X.

He added, “We condemn this incident and once again remind the interim government to live up to its responsibility of protecting all minorities, including Hindus, without inventing excuses or making distinctions.”

India has previously expressed similar concerns over rising attacks on minorities in Bangladesh, but this latest incident has drawn particular attention due to Roy’s prominence in the Hindu community.

Roy, who served as the Vice-President of the Biral unit of the Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad, was abducted from his residence in Dinajpur district on Thursday evening. According to police and family accounts, he received a phone call around 4:30 p.m., after which four unidentified men arrived on motorcycles and forcibly took him to Narabari village. He was reportedly assaulted and later found unconscious. He was rushed to a hospital in Dinajpur, where he was declared dead on arrival. His wife, Shantana Roy believes the attackers used the call to confirm his location before carrying out the abduction.

Opposition leaders in India also slammed the shocking incident in the neighbouring country.

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge highlighted that religious minorities, especially Hindus, are being persecuted in Bangladesh.

“Attacks on other religious minorities are also continuing. Recently, the Chief Advisor of Bangladesh made a very condemnable and disappointing comment about the northeastern states of India. The persecution of religious minorities in Bangladesh, human rights violations, and the attempt to erase the memories of the 1971 Liberation War are efforts to weaken the relationship between India and Bangladesh. From 1971 till today, India has always wished for peace and prosperity for all the people of Bangladesh. This is in the best interest of the subcontinent,” he said.

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International

Death toll from US airstrikes on Yemeni fuel port rises to 38: Houthis

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Sanaa, April 18: The death toll from US overnight airstrikes on the Yemeni fuel port of Ras Isa has increased to 38, with 102 others wounded, Houthi-run al-Masirah TV reported on Friday, citing Houthi-controlled local health authorities.

According to al-Masirah, the casualties include five paramedics who were killed upon arriving at the scene, when the US military launched another wave of airstrikes on the port just minutes after the first on Thursday night.

More than 14 airstrikes on the fuel port were reported during the two waves, igniting massive fires in tanks storing imported fuel. The fires were extinguished within hours, said the report.

The US Central Command said earlier in a statement that it struck and destroyed the Ras Isa port on Thursday to “eliminate this source of fuel for” and “degrade the economic source of power of” the Houthis, Xinhua news agency reported.

In mid-March, US President Donald Trump ordered “decisive and powerful military action” against the Houthis after the group announced plans to resume attacks on Israeli vessels in the Red Sea, citing Israel’s blockade of humanitarian aid to Gaza as the reason.

Earlier on April 17, Yemen’s Houthi leader Abdulmalik al-Houthi had said his group had launched 26 attacks against Israel and 33 strikes on the US aircraft carrier and warships in the Red Sea since March 15.

In a televised speech aired by the group’s al-Masirah TV on Thursday, the Houthi leader said the attacks on Israel were carried out using “30 ballistic missiles and drones,” while those targeting the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier and its escorts involved “122 ballistic and cruise missiles, as well as drones”.

However, the Israeli military has reportedly intercepted many of the Houthi projectiles before they reached targets, Xinhua news agency reported.

The US Central Command dismissed the Houthi claims of daily attacks on the US aircraft carrier as “outlandish” in a post on the social media platform X.

Meanwhile, the Houthi leader noted that the US military had conducted more than 900 airstrikes against his group’s positions across northern Yemen during the past 30 days.

Tensions between the Houthi group and the US military have escalated since Washington resumed airstrikes on Houthi targets in Yemen on March 15 to deter the group from attacking Israel and US warships in the Red Sea.

The Houthis, which control much of northern Yemen, said their attacks aim to press US-backed Israel to stop the offensive against the Gaza Strip and allow humanitarian aid into the Palestinian enclave.

Israel’s Channel 12 News reported last Saturday that a Yemeni drone was intercepted near the Dead Sea within the Jordanian airspace before it could reach Israel.

The Jordanian army confirmed later last week that an unidentified drone entered Jordanian airspace and crashed in the Ma’in area of Madaba governorate, near the Dead Sea, and no casualties were reported.

Even since Israel renewed its intensive strikes in March across the Gaza Strip, the Houthis have been launching frequent attacks against Israeli and US targets.

Earlier last week, the Houthi military spokesperson claimed fresh attacks against the US aircraft carrier, USS Harry S Truman, and other US warships in the northern Red Sea.

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Houthis say 123 civilians in Yemen killed in one month of US airstrikes

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Sanaa, April 15: A total of 123 civilians have been killed and 247 others injured, mostly women and children, since the US military resumed airstrikes across Yemen in mid-March, Houthi-run health authorities said in an statement.

The statement was issued following US airstrikes against a ceramic factory on the western outskirts of Yemen’s capital Sanaa late on Sunday night, which killed seven people and injured 29 others.

The health authorities’ previous statement on April 9 put the death toll from the renewed US air raids at 107 and the number of injuries at 223.

The Houthi group rarely discloses casualties among its fighters. However, the US military has repeatedly said the strikes have killed dozens of Houthi leaders, which the group has denied, Xinhua news agency reported.

Earlier on Sunday, Yemen’s Houthi group announced that it had shot down another US MQ-9 drone, the 19th it has downed since November 2023.

“A US MQ-9 drone was shot down while carrying out hostile missions in the airspace of Hajjah province” in northwestern Yemen, Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said in a statement aired by Houthi-run al-Masirah TV.

Sarea added that the drone was downed by a locally manufactured surface-to-air missile, stressing “the ongoing US aggression” has not crippled the group’s military capabilities.

The statement affirmed the group’s support for the Palestinian people, saying its operations will continue “until the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip stops and the siege on it is lifted.”

The US resumed its air campaign against Houthi forces on March 15, stating that its strikes were aimed at deterring the group from launching attacks against Israeli and US naval assets in the Red Sea.

The Houthis, who control vast areas of northern Yemen, have been attacking Israeli targets since November 2023 to show solidarity with Palestinians under Israeli bombardment in the Gaza Strip.

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