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SA V IND, 2nd ODI: Malan, de Kock half-centuries lead South Africa to series win

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 Half-centuries by Janneman Malan (91 off 108) and wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock (78 off 66) helped South Africa defeat India by seven wickets in the second ODI at Boland Park on Friday. The win also means South Africa go 2-0 up and clinch the ODI series with the final match at Cape Town on Sunday still to be played.

After Rishabh Pant produced a career-best act of 85 off just 71 balls while skipper KL Rahul contributed 55 and Shardul Thakur unbeaten 40 to take India to 287/6, South Africa chased down the total with 11 balls to spare, the highest successful chase at the Boland Park, as India were short of wicket-taking options and looked flat on the field.

Chasing 288 on a scorching day, South Africa were off to a scintillating start, collecting 66 runs in power-play. De Kock blazed to 46 runs off just 32 balls, going brutal on Bhuvneshwar Kumar, taking him for two boundaries and a six. De Kock then smashed Jasprit Bumrah and Ravichandran Ashwin for boundaries before he survived a stumping attempt by Pant.

To rub salt into wounds, de Kock swept Ashwin over deep backward square leg for a huge six before Malan reverse-swept the off-spinner for a boundary. Things started to look ominous for India as they lost a review on an lbw decision against Malan and the openers brought up the 100 of their stand with de Kock easily pulling Kumar over deep mid-wicket and then sweeping Shardul Thakur over deep backward square leg.

Malan reached his fifty and on the very next ball, Thakur broke the 132-run partnership. De Kock missed a flick and was hit on pads by a full toss swinging in late. A confident India took the review and got to change the decision as replays showed the ball hitting the stumps.

Post de Kock’s fall, Malan took centre stage with a rollicking six over deep mid-wicket off Ashwin. With Temba Bavuma looking crisp, Malan brought out delightful short-arm jabs and reverse sweeps to keep South Africa in full control of the chase. Thakur came under smashing in the 33rd over as Malan drove him through cover before Bavuma pulled over mid-wicket and glanced through fine leg as 14 runs came off it.

The 80-run stand for the second wicket was broken by Bumrah, whose length ball on the middle stump beat the inner edge and hit the stumps after brushin’ past Malan’s right elbow, dismissing the right-hander nine runs short of his hundred. In the next over, Bavuma tried to flick but the leading edge popped back to Chahal.

Rassie van der Dussen took two boundaries off Ashwin in the 39th over, while Aiden Markram took back-to-back boundaries off Kumar through cover and deep square leg in the 44th over to bring up fifty of the partnership for the fourth wicket. Markram and van der Dussen knocked off the remaining runs to seal a series win for South Africa and extend their winning run on the tour to four matches across formats.

Earlier, Pant and Rahul’s 115-run partnership off 111 balls made one feel like India would go past 300 runs. But South Africa, despite four dropped catches, struck hard as India slipped from 179/2 to 207/5. Tabraiz Shamsi was the pick of the bowlers for the hosts, taking 2/57 while Markram and Keshav Maharaj supported well with 1/34 and 1/52 respectively.

Joining forces at 63/2 and after surviving a terrible miscommunication almost resulting in a run-out of Rahul, Pant broke the shackles with a huge slog-sweep off Maharaj for six followed by Rahul attacking Maharaj and Markram for a boundary each. Pant began to take centre stage in the counter-attack, collecting boundaries regularly off Maharaj and Markram.

With Rahul dropping anchor, Pant continued his controlled aggression, welcoming Shamsi by sweeping him twice followed by a late cut. Pant soon reached his fifty and continued to smash boundaries for fun. South Africa’s woeful time on the field continued as Rahul, once given a reprieve at 8, was dropped on 46 by Markram.

Pant continued to hit Shamsi for runs, including a one-handed six down the ground after a whip past mid-on. With Rahul reaching his fifty and Pant going strong, India had got a great platform to accelerate. But the 115-run partnership for the third wicket was ended by Magala, as Rahul flicked to short mid-wicket, departing for 55.

In the very next over, Pant danced down the pitch to loft off Shamsi but holed out to lo’g-on. Following the duo’s dismissals, India was unable to get the momentum back. Shreyas Iyer was given not out on an lbw appeal off Shamsi. But the bowler got to change the decision as replays showed the ball crashing into stumps. Venkatesh Iyer was dropped by van der Dussen at cover but couldn’t make the most of it as de Kock effected a very sharp stumping when the left-hander’s back-foot was up in the air.

Thakur continued to take boundaries off Andile Phehlukwayo before giving the same treatment to Shamsi and Maharaj. Ashwin joined the party by sweeping Maharaj over deep mid-wicket before finishing the innings with a boundary crunched over extra cover off Magala as the unbeaten 48-run stand lifted India to a 280-plus score.

Earlier, India blazed to 57/0 in the first ten overs. Shikhar Dhawan was strong in flicking and driving off pacers. Despite being circumspect, Rahul got two boundaries through off-side. After power-play, Dhawan was the first to depart, slog-sweeping straight to Magala at deep mid-wicket as Markram broke the opening partnership.

Maharaj troubled Virat Kohli with turn and bounce twice before getting the right-hander to drive on the up to extra cover, dismissing him for a five-ball duck. Pant and Rahul combined for a resurrection act but that went in vain as South Africa made a tricky target look like a stroll in the park.

Brief scores: India 287/6 in 50 overs (Rishabh Pant 85, KL Rahul 55; Tabraiz Shamsi 2/57, Aiden Markram 1/34) lost to South Africa 288/3 in 48.1 overs (Janneman Malan 91, Quinton de Kock 78; Jasprit Bumrah 1/37, Yuzvendra Chahal 1/47) by seven wickets

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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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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