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Suzie Bates slams ton as New Zealand Women humble India in 1st ODI

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Suzie Bates slammed a century, while Amy Satterthwaite scored a half century as New Zealand Women defeated the Mithali Raj-led India by 62 runs in the opening One-day International (ODI) at the John Davies Oval to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series here on Saturday.

Put in to bat first, New Zealand openers Bates and Maddy Green put on a solid start, adding 54 runs for the first wicket. Bates (106 off 111 balls) took the initiative from the get-go and did the bulk of the scoring in the Powerplay as the hosts put up an imposing 275 in 48.1 overs. In reply, India were bundled out for 213 in 49.4 overs.

In New Zealand’s batting, the introduction of spin finally became the undoing for Green who was caught at slip off Deepti Sharma. While Bates soon got to her fifty, Amelia Kerr took up the role of the aggressor in her 39-ball 33 that included five boundaries. Eventually, Poonam Yadav got the better of her trying an expansive shot.

Amy Satterthwaite and Bate ensured that the wicket did not derail the innings and continued to punish the loose deliveries to keep the scoreboard ticking. Bates got to her 12th ODI century in the 36th over of the innings but fell in the very next over, holing out at deep mid-wicket, thus bringing to an end to her brilliant 98-run partnership with Satterthwaite.

Sophie Devine got a massive reprieve six balls into her innings after being dropped by Richa Ghosh but couldn’t make India pay for their mistake as she was back in the hut two overs later. New Zealand kept losing wickets at regular intervals in the death overs – 7 wickets in the last 8 overs – but Satterwaite’s 63 off 67 ensured the home side put up a respectable total. The White Ferns, who at one point were 204/2, were bundled out for 275.

India got off to a poor start in their chase of 276 and were left to play catchup from the very beginning. In the absence of Smriti Mandhana, Sabbhineni Meghana was handed her ODI debut after impressing in the one-off T20I. However, her form did not carry over across formats as she was caught at slips in the fifth over.

Four balls later, Devine trapped Shafali Verma in front of the stumps as India lost both their openers in consecutive overs.

Yastika Bhatia and Mithali Raj then came together to rebuild the innings and started to tee off towards the end of the Powerplay. They kept finding the boundaries with regularity but found it difficult to rotate strike as frequently.

They put on an 88-run partnership but the pressure of the scoreboard got to Bhatia, who in her effort to accelerate the scoring, picked out the fielder at deep square.

Mithali Raj got to her fifty, but with the required run rate at 7.5, was caught at point trying to take the aerial route. India soon lost half their side as Harmanpreet Kaur’s lean patch with the bat continued.

Still 137 runs away from victory in 105 balls at that point, India’s lower-order had an uphill task ahead of them. Richa Ghosh and Pooja Vastrakar chipped in with valuable 20s but only delayed the inevitable as India were bowled out for 213.

Jess Kerr stood out with a four-for, first breaking the back of the Indian innings with the wickets of Mithali and Harmanpreet, before wrapping up the game with two wickets in two balls.

Brief scores: New Zealand 275 in 48.1 overs (Suzie Bates 106, Amelia Kerr 33, Amy Satterthwaite 63; Jhulan Goswami 2/58) beat India 213 in 49.4 overs (Yastika Bhatia 41, Mithali Raj 59, Jess Kerr 4/35) by 62 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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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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