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Tector, McBrine guide Ireland to 5-wicket win against West Indies in 2nd ODI

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An unbeaten half-century by youngster Harry Tector backed by a strong Irish bowling performance, especially Andy McBrine (4/36), helped the tourists clinch a five-wicket victory over the West Indies in a rain-curtailed second One-day International at the Sabina Park here on Friday (IST).

The tourists, thus, levelled the series 1-1, performing admirably despite missing several key players, including skipper Andrew Balbirnie due to COVID-19.

Led by stand-in skipper Paul Stirling, Ireland were particularly efficient with ball, as McBrine, Craig Young (3/42) and Josh Little (2/40) making significant contributions. McBrine also compiling 35 with the bat to help Ireland to victory in the match which had to be rescheduled due to several COVID-19 cases being reported in the touring side.

Stirling won the toss and elected to bowl, perhaps with afternoon rain and DLS calculations in mind. It was the opening batter’s first ODI in charge, and his bowlers backed his early decision, largely through the inroads made by Young. He claimed 3/12 in his first four overs, and proved too much for Shai Hope (17), Justin Greaves (10), and Nicholas Pooran (1).

Roston Chase and Shamarh Brooks steadied, only for McBrine to end the partnership on 48, taking a return catch off Chase for 13. McBrine then claimed the key wicket of Kieron Pollard for one, as Little claimed Jason Holder’s wicket soon after.

Stirling was aggressive in his captaincy, and the spin of George Dockrell trapped Brooks lbw for 43.

Despite the early dominance, not all went the tourists’ way, as a late-innings scramble from the West Indies took them to 229. A ninth-wicket partnership of 58 off just 27 balls from Romario Shepherd (50 from 41 balls) and Odean Smith (49 off 19 balls) swung the momentum slightly, though the upper hand remained Ireland’s, even after conceding almost 30 extras.

McBrine’s 4/29 was his second-best bowling figures in ODI cricket, moving him into fifth place on Ireland’s all-time ODI wicket-taking list.

Stirling was his usual aggressive self with the bat, making a quick-fire 21 next to long-time opening partner Will Porterfield, who made 26. Stirling fell to the left-arm orthodox of Akeal Hosein, but not before becoming the first Irish player to reach 5,000 ODI runs.

Porterfield fell at the end of the 10th over, though McBrine and Tector built well to move the game out of the hosts’ reach. McBrine fell to a top-edge from a well-directed Shepherd short ball for 35, though Curtis Campher joined Tector in another strong stand.

Tector brought up his sixth ODI half-century in the last nine matches, though more importantly moved the side well in front on DLS when the match was delayed by rain.

When play resumed, Ireland, 26 runs ahead on DLS, knocked off the remaining 11 runs comfortably.

“It means a lot — we’re delighted with how the lads responded, coming from a tough loss the other day where we thought we were really in the game a lot of the time, and to come and put on a performance like this after the off-field activities that have gone on. We’re delighted to get the win today, we really are,” Stirling told icc-cricket.com.

The teams will play the final World Cup Super League match on January 16 at the same venue.

Brief scores: West Indies 229 in 48 overs (Shamarh Brooks 43, Romario Shepherd 50, Odean Smith 46; Josh Little 2/40, Craig Young 3/42, Andy McBrine 4/36) lost to Ireland 168/5 in 32.3 overs (Harry Tector 54 not out, Andy McBrine 35; Akeal Hosein 2/51) by five wickets D/L Method.

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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