India’s captain Rohit Sharma and spinner Kuldeep Yadav celebrate a wicket during the semi-final match against England in the ICC Mens T20 World Cup 2024, at Providence Stadium in Guyana on June 28, 2024
| Photo Credit: ANI

INDIA bloc plans adjournment motions in both Houses of Parliament on NEET issue

Opposition parties belonging to the INDIA bloc will move adjournment motions in both the Houses of Parliament on June 28 over the alleged irregularities in the National Entrance-cum-Eligibility Test (NEET) and paper leaks in other public exams. 

Rohit Sharma, spinners guide India to third T20 World Cup final

Skipper Rohit Sharma’s grace was matched by the might of Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav as India exorcised the ghosts of 2022 by handing defending champions England a 68-run thrashing to enter the final of the T20 World Cup in Georgetown on June 27.

Students protest at Jantar Mantar, want NTA dissolved

While the President addressed the NEET issue in Parliament on Thursday, only a few km away, Jantar Mantar saw back-to-back protests with students and youth leaders demanding the dissolving of the controversy-riddled National Testing Agency (NTA) and the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. Simultaneously, Congress-affiliated NSUI members marched to the NTA and demanded its closure, attempting to lock the office from outside.

CBI arrests two in Patna in NEET paper leak case

In its first arrests from Patna in the NEET-UG paper leak case, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) took Manish Prakash and Ashutosh Kumar into custody on Thursday. According to the agency, the accused played a crucial role in arranging to rent the Learn Boys Hostel and Play School in Patna’s Khemnichak locality, where the leaked question papers were allegedly distributed to the 20 to 25 candidates gathered there on the eve of the examination, so that they could memorise the answers overnight.

Plea in Supreme Court to stay implementation of new criminal laws

A petition was moved in the Supreme Court on June 27 seeking a stay on the implementation and operation of three new criminal laws, Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023, Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita 2023 and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam 2023, scheduled to come into effect from July 1.

Manipur BJP president meets Amit Shah for ‘permanent solution’ to conflict in State

The chief of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Manipur met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi on Thursday urging “immediate attention to bring permanent solution and tranquillity to the State”. A. Sharda Devi met Mr. Shah for “an extensive discussion on the current situation in Manipur”. Her three-year tenure as party president ended on Thursday.

President Murmu flags NEET, Emergency in address to Parliament, says government fully committed to investigating ‘paper leaks’

In her first address to Parliament since the Lok Sabha election results were announced, President Droupadi Murmu asked MPs to rise above “partisan politics” with regard to the row over “paper leaks” in examinations for medical college admissions and government recruitment. The Union government is “fully committed” to investigating the issues and punishing the guilty, she said.

AAP MP’s suspension revoked, six new members take oath in Rajya Sabha

Six newly-elected members of Parliament from Bihar, Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh took oath as members of the Rajya Sabha on June 27. The Upper House held its first setting after the constitution of the 18th Lok Sabha on Thursday and it was first day of the 264th session of the Rajya Sabha. 

Pro-Israel posters pasted, black ink thrown outside Owaisi’s residence in Delhi

A group of five men pasted posters outside the residence of AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi in New Delhi on Thursday evening, demanding his suspension from the Lok Sabha, officials said. According to a police officer, four-five men reached Mr. Owaisi’s 34 Ashoka Road residence located in Central Delhi and pasted three posters at the entry gate and wall of the house about 9 p.m.

17 people arrested in attempted coup that shook Bolivia, government says

Bolivia’s government on Thursday announced that a total of 17 people have been arrested over their alleged involvement in the attempted coup that shook the economically troubled country the day before.

Prague-to-Budapest train collides with a bus in Slovakia, killing 5 people and injuring 5

A train travelling from the Czech capital of Prague to the Hungarian capital of Budapest collided with a bus in southern Slovakia on Thursday, leaving at least five people dead and five injured, officials said.

RBI unveils revised Currency Swap Arrangement for SAARC countries

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on June 27 said it with the concurrence of the Government of India has decided to put in place a revised Framework on Currency Swap Arrangement for SAARC countries for the period 2024 to 2027. Under this Framework, the Reserve Bank would enter into bilateral swap agreements with SAARC central banks, who want to avail of the swap facility. 

UltraTech Cement acquires 23% stake in India Cements

Aditya Birla Group’s UltraTech Cement Ltd. announced it was making a non-controlling financial investment to pick up 23% equity stake in India Cements Ltd (ICL). Block deal data showed UltraTech initially bought 6.02 crore ICL shares, or 19.4% stake. Earlier in the day, UltraTech’s Board approved the purchase of up to 7.06 crore equity shares of ICL at up to ₹267 apiece.

India’s approach with the bat now is drastically different to what it was in the 2022 T20 World Cup, England head coach Matthew Mott. File
| Photo Credit: PETER CZIBORRA

India’s approach with the bat now is drastically different to what it was in the 2022 T20 World Cup semi-final and both teams will start Thursday’s contest on an even keel, England head coach Matthew Mott said on Wednesday.

England had annihilated India by 10 wickets in the semi-final at Adelaide two years ago before winning the trophy. India were criticised for their conservative approach back then but now they are playing as per the demands of the shortest format.

“Probably the only thing that we’ve discussed is that we feel that they’re a very different team to that semi-final. The way that they’ve approached it in the last couple of years is certainly taking the game on extremely hard in the power play,” said Mott on the eve of the match.

“Rohit (Sharma) with the bat has led the way extremely well and shown leadership in that department, as has Jos Buttler for us. But I think it presents a really unique challenge for us. It’s a venue we don’t know well.

“We’ve obviously been armed with a lot of information and we think we’ve got a squad to cover it, but there’s a little bit of unknown about what we’re going to get,” he said.

Following the disastrous run in the ODI World Cup in India last year, England have a point to prove despite being defending champions in the current edition.

Asked more about India’s changed approach, Mott said, “When we go back to that semi-final, obviously on a good pitch in Adelaide, we put India in and that was a risk. But I thought we felt that they weren’t sure what a good score was.

“I think the approach now is they would come at us hard and try and maximise that, maybe try and put it out of our reach. You’ve got two great batting line-ups. The bowlers are all class as well. So, it’s going to come down to on the day.” India, however, have not been able to win an ICC trophy in more than 10 years and they are very keen to end that title drought here. Mott highlighted India’s remarkable consistency in reaching the knockout games.

“What India has done incredibly well over the last few years is put themselves in semi-finals contention and the flip side to that is when you don’t win people look at that as a negative.

“But I think the consistency that they’ve shown over a length of time shows what a great group of players they are.

“And like anyone, when you get to the semi-final stage, every team, and the four teams out here, all think they’re in with a chance to win it. And there’s small margins. So, if you take those key moments at the right time, you get over the line, if you don’t, you go home.

“So, our tournament really starts tomorrow, we’re excited by – we know their players well, they know us well,” said Mott.

England have not had the smoothest of runs in the competition but Mott said that is all in the past.

“There’s a general feeling that our best cricket is in front of us. I think we’ve been pretty good in patches, we’ve done some really good stuff over here, but we haven’t put together that perfect game.

“So, with a bit of luck that happens against India. It’s certainly going to be a great occasion,” added the head coach.

Kuldeep Yadav celebrates a wicket during the third Test match between India and England at Rajkot
| Photo Credit: VIJAY SONEJI

He might look like an accountant accidentally woken up by an alarm beeping too early, hair dishevelled and on the point of complaining. But the smile is never far from Kuldeep Yadav’s eyes, suggesting he enjoys a laugh against himself. “I have become mature,” he told the media at the end of the series against England where he took 19 wickets and brought left-arm wrist spin to the forefront of cricket conversations.

The craft appeals to the romantics. The wrist spinner is capable of looking like a genius one day and a novice the next, adding to the glorious uncertainties.

Since making his debut seven years ago, Kuldeep has played just 12 Tests while missing 56 that India played in that period. You need a sense of humour to survive such vicissitudes. And to retain both fitness and passion while spending so much time on the sidelines. He went back to the drawing board, worked on his run up and his pace as well as his batting and has become the bowler he wanted to be.

May soon be spearhead

India’s discovery of new stars (Dhruv Jurel, Sarfaraz Khan, Akash Deep) and ratification of the potential of a recent one (Yashasvi Jaiswal) have been touted as the gains of the series, which they are. But equally important has been the confirmation of the quality and class of their third spinner who might soon be the spearhead of the spin attack.

Kuldeep, 29, made his mark over a decade ago and now, as he says, he has begun to understand his bowling. It is a difficult art, one of the toughest in the game. Most left-arm spinners, from Wilfred Rhodes to Bishan Bedi experimented with wrist spin early on, and then decided that orthodox finger spin, where the ball spins away from the bat is the better option. Garry Sobers bowled in both styles, but there is no record of how many of his 235 Test wickets were earned by wrist spin.

Wrist spinners tend to be, by the nature of their craft, expensive and inconsistent. It takes a captain who understands this to handle Kuldeep, and Rohit Sharma showed he understood both the bowler and the bowling well. He didn’t hesitate from berating Kuldeep when he fell short nor did he ignore the arm-around-the-shoulder treatment that paid such dividends.

When Kuldeep started his career, the ball bowled that went the other way was referred to as the ‘chinaman’, a term now thankfully erased from the game. This was ostensibly because a West Indies player of Chinese origin, Ellis Achong was believed to have been the first to use it. An English batter stumped off such a delivery walked away cursing. It may be an apocryphal story, though. In any case, he was insulting the bowler rather than christening a new delivery.

Two Yorkshiremen, Roy Kilner and Maurice Leyland might have bowled that delivery a decade earlier, the name suggestive of either eastern magic or the conviction that it could only dismiss a batter who hadn’t played cricket. Kilner was a man of charm who contracted typhoid while coaching in India and died at 37. Over a lakh turned up for his funeral in his hometown. Leyland was better known as a feisty batter who averaged over 50 against Australia. Leyland claimed he was the one to name the delivery because it was ‘foreign’ and couldn’t be called anything else.

Kuldeep may not be aware of the anecdotal history behind the delivery he bowls so well . He may not know that he figures in a novel by John Le Carre who wrote the following in his Agent Running in the Field: “I discuss with the parents of our future daughter-in-law such issues as Britain’s post-Brexit trade relations and the tortuous bowling action of India’s spin bowler Kuldeep Yadav…”

Not that it matters. He is capable of bowling the near-unplayable ball, and that should suffice. The ball that got a set Zak Crawley began its journey as if intending to spin across the face of the bat but then seemed to change its mind and crash into the stumps. This was one of the best of the series.

“It wasn’t always easy,” Kuldeep tweeted a couple of years ago, “but it has been worth it.” Cricket lovers agree.

Former England captain Michael Vaughan. File
| Photo Credit: Getty Images

Former skipper Michael Vaughan fears not all England players have fully adapted to the existing team culture and feels the backroom staff is “made up of cheerleaders”.

Vaughan suggested England must carry out an honest review of their 1-4 mauling in India by taking a leaf out of Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola’s book to breed an environment of ruthlessness.

India completed a magnificent series triumph with an innings and 64-run victory inside three days in the fifth and final Test here on Saturday.

“After a humbling series defeat in India, I strongly believe that a dose of honesty is the most important thing for this England team right now,” Vaughan wrote in his column for Daily Telegraph.

Vaughan, who led the Test team from 2003-08, added, “I don’t believe they need to rip everything up. They are better playing this way than they would be otherwise.

“I respect what they are trying to do, and get up early every day to watch them because they have me on the edge of my seat and I know something is going to happen.

“The great frustration is that they have the talent to be really competitive all over the world but they have blown two big series and in this case it was because their batting failed miserably.” Accusing the team management of going too soft on players, Vaughan said he understands that there is a pervading sense of positivity, fun and laughter in the camp but that may not always bring the desired results.

“Every interview you hear the same stuff, about excitement, opportunity and fun, that everyone is having the time of their life.

“I have been around many of them in the last couple of years and their language can be inspiring. I admire some of it, but I can be a bit of an old cynic, and I worry that they are speaking a language that not all of them truly believe, which is dangerous.

“Certain players will believe it, but not everyone. We can’t all think the same.” He added, “Victories are what keep the fun bus on the road, not endlessly talking about how much fun you are having.

“The truth is that this can’t always be fun, because it’s so hard. Positivity is good, and inspiring, but honesty is also required.”

Vaughan said those running the team must not shy away from taking tough calls and for that, they don’t need to look beyond Guardiola.

“The team message is never to doubt anything, never admit they were wrong or they could have done things differently. Everything is very cosy. Everyone is mates: players, coaches, backroom staff. That does not breed an environment of ruthlessness.

“I know I bang on about how brilliant Pep Guardiola is, but you don’t hear about him being mates with Manchester City players. He’s their boss and he doesn’t always do what his players want him to.” “He makes ruthless decisions about selection and training regimes.”

Vaughan was least amused with the English players spending time in Abu Dhabi and playing golf in Bengaluru when there were long breaks between Tests.

“England’s management give the players just about everything that they want, like a break in Abu Dhabi with no cricket kit and a golf trip to Bangalore in the middle of the tour.

“I am not one for old-school preparation, with three first-class matches at the start of a tour. Those days are gone, and it’s not needed. But surely with two long breaks, you need to get some cricket into the outside of the team, so they are ready if required, and to keep those in the XI on their toes.

“It also might help players in the team find form. By doing nothing, you get yourself into a Catch 22.”

He added, “I do worry it’s a backroom team made up of cheerleaders. That’s based on what I hear in public, and maybe it’s different in the changing room, but players need challenging and questioning at times.”

Ravichandran Ashwin celebrates the wicket of England’s Ben Foakes on Day 3 of the 5th Test match, at Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, in Dharamsala on March 9, 2024.
| Photo Credit: ANI

India’s Test series triumph over England lived up to the expectations as records tumbled even in the fifth game with the likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ravichandran Ashwin and James Anderson etching their names in the history books at the scenic HPCA Stadium.

The five-match series between two cricketing giants played home to 102 sixes to make the record for the most maximums struck in a Test series.

Before this series, Ashes 2023 (Australia vs England) saw a total of 74 sixes smashed all around the different venues with Australia emerging triumphant to retain the series.

Throughout the series, India’s promising talent lived up to the expectations and delivered to fill in the holes left by the absence of some senior players like Virat Kohli and many more.

Among such players, 22-year-old, Yashasvi Jaiswal finished the series with an impressive tally of 712 runs to his name which included remarkable 26 sixes.

The southpaw batter became just the second batter to enter the 700-run club in a series and joined the elite company of ICC Hall of Famer Sunil Gavaskar who has achieved the feat twice in his decorated career.

In the final game, Jaiswal struck 57 and became the second-fastest Indian cricketer to reach 1000 runs in Test format and he took just 16 innings to achieve the feat.

Former India cricketer Vinod Kambli is the only player ahead of Jaiswal who achieved the feat in just 14 innings.

Coming to the bowlers, Ashwin who featured in his 100th Test ended the match with a nine-wicket haul to his name which included a five-for in the second innings. With his scintillating performance, Ashwin ended the series with the most number of wickets – 26.

Ashwin went past iconic spinner Anil Kumble to become the Indian bowler with the most five-wicket hauls in Test cricket – 36. The 37-year-old is the first player to bag a five-wicket haul in his debut as well as in his 100th Test.

The crafty off-spinner is the fourth bowler to claim a five-for in his 100th Test. Before him, the iconic spin trio of Shane Warne, Anil Kumble and Muttiah Muralitharan achieved the feat.

England’s famed pacer James Anderson became the first speedster to claim 700 wickets in Test format after he claimed the wicket of Kuldeep Yadav early in Day 3.

Featuring as the only pacer in the top four wicket-takers in Test format, the 41-year-old is just eight wickets behind the legendary Shane Warne who has 708 wickets to his name.

R. Ashwin celebrates after taking the wicket of England batsman Zak Crawley on the third day of the final Test match at HPCA Ground in Dharamshala on March 9, 2024.
| Photo Credit: R.V. Moorthy

The predictable happened swiftly. Under two sessions on the third day of the fifth Test here, India completed the demolition job of the surprisingly-willing Englishmen for a 4-1 series triumph.

After an embarrassing loss in the first Test, despite taking a 190-run lead, India turned the script around to win the next four. But none of India’s triumphs was as dominating as the one on Saturday, the margin being an innings and 64 runs.

For the record, India resumed its first innings and folded at 477 after losing overnight not outs, Man-of-the-Match Kuldeep Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah for the additional of four runs.

INFOGRAPHIC | R. Ashwin’s journey to 100 Tests, 500 wickets

Trailing by 259 runs, England was never in the hunt to save an innings loss. It lost five wickets before lunch and the rest in the second session to be cleaned up for just 195.

On a day when 41-year-old James Anderson, in his 187th Test, became the first fast bowler to take 700 Test wickets, R. Ashwin picked up five wickets to tally nine for 128 in his 100th Test.

Inexplicable was England’s rush to defeat. Beginning its second innings in the seventh session of a Test, the haste of the visiting batters to play the big shots was baffling. Hit firmly between the ears by the Indian spinners in the first innings, England showed that it had not learnt any lesson. The false bravado only hastened the end and left England in very poor light in the shortest of the five Tests.

When England batted again, Ashwin started from where he left off after taking the last four first-innings wickets. He sent back the top three batters before lunch as England reeled at 103 for five.

Ashwin bowled Ben Duckett, Ben Stokes and Ben Foakes by foxing each one differently. Duckett stepped out, got himself ‘yorked’ as the ball turned just enough to beat his heave and crashed into the off-stump.

Following a change of ends, Ashwin dismissed Stokes. Guilty of playing from the crease, falling to Bumrah and the turning ball in the series, he played forward defensively but was beaten and bowled. After lunch, Foakes paid the price for his attempted slog-sweep and gave the off-spinner a 36th five-wicket haul.

Jonny Bairstow, also playing his 100th Test, smashed three sixes and two of his three boundaries off Ashwin before being dismissed by Kuldeep.

Joe Root stood amid the ruins to post his 61st Test half-century during the ninth-wicket stand with Shoaib Bashir. He displayed the approach England needed to stay alive to fight another day. He was last out for 84, holing out to Bumrah off Kuldeep, the man who started the procession of England’s wickets in the first innings.

Scoreboard

England 1st Innings: 218 all out

India 1st Innings: 477 all out

England 2nd Innings: Zak Crawley c Sarfaraz Khan b Ashwin 0 Ben Duckett b Ashwin 2 Ollie Pope c Yashasvi Jaiswal b Ashwin 19 Joe Root c Bumrah b Kuldeep Yadav 84 Jonny Bairstow lbw b Kuldeep Yadav 39 Ben Stokes b Ashwin 2 Ben Foakes b Ashwin 8 Tom Hartley lbw b Bumrah 20 Mark Wood lbw b Bumrah 0 Shoaib Bashir b Jadeja 13 James Anderson not out 0 Extras: (B-6, LB-1, NB-1) 8

Total: (All out in 48.1 overs) 195

Fall of wickets: 1-2, 2-21, 3-36, 4-92, 5-103, 6-113, 7-141, 8-141, 9-189, 10-195

India bowling: Jasprit Bumrah 10-2-38-2, Ravichandran Ashwin 14-0-77-5, Ravindra Jadeja 9-1-25-1, Kuldeep Yadav 14.1-0-40-2, Mohammed Siraj 1-0-8-0.

Indian batsman Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill, both scored centuries on the second day of the final Test match at HPCA Ground in Dharamshala on March 8, 2024
| Photo Credit: R.V. Moorthy

Relentless India punished England all day and left it staring at another defeat after just two days of the fifth and final Test here.

Notwithstanding the late flurry of wickets, Friday saw India score 338 runs to reach 473 for eight and lead by 255 runs.

Overnight batters Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma converted their half-centuries into centuries, something that debutant Devdutt Padikkal and Sarfaraz Khan could not.

A wicketless first session saw Rohit and Gill score 129 runs to put India 46 runs ahead of England’s 218. They reached their centuries in the space of three deliveries.

Gill was more aggressive of the two in reaching his fourth Test century after Rohit posted his 14th — sixth since 2021 — and maintained the solidity seen on the previous evening.

The second session — that produced 112 runs — proved more eventful.

Skipper Ben Stokes, whose last Test wicket came on June 28, 2023, chose to bowl after seven Tests since then. He opened the second over after lunch and bowled Rohit off his first delivery. The ball beat a rather casual Rohit to find the off-stump, much to the joy of Stokes’ team-mates even as the skipper remained expressionless.

Like it happens so often, the end of a long partnership — of 171 runs in this case — the partners departed in quick succession.

Gill, after hitting two boundaries of James Anderson in the first over after lunch, fell in the following over from the 41-year-old for the sixth time. The reverse-swing in the 63rd over foxed Gill and took the off-stump for a walk.

Two wickets in eight deliveries for England brought Sarfaraz and Padikkal together. A fortuitous edge past the lone slip saw the Karnataka left-hander get his first Test runs. He rode his luck to play some glorious strokes on both sides of the pitch. Soon Sarfaraz settled down and dominated the 97-run stand with some free-flowing shots in the hour before tea to reach a 55-ball 51, his third Test half-century.

Much like the post-lunch session, the post-tea play witnessed England taste early success. Sarfaraz departed by offering Joe Root, the lone slip, a low catch. Padikkal, who reached his 50 with a six off Bashir, went on to hit a couple of boundaries off Hartley before being bowled by the former.

If England lost three wickets at 175, India lost three in the space of one run. Bashir lured Dhruv Jurel to hole out to Ben Duckett at long-on for his fourth wicket. In the next over, Hartley ended Ravindra Jadeja’s struggle and sent back R. Ashwin for a duck in his 100th Test.

With India eight down at 428 and 18 overs remaining for stumps, the possibility of England getting to bat appeared bright. But Kuldeep Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah frustrated England with their unbroken 45-run stand.

Virat Kohli celebrates after winning the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 match against England at Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow on October 29, 2023.
| Photo Credit: PTI

India surpassed New Zealand (58) with its 59th win to become the second-most successful team in the ODI World Cups, only behind Australia (73 wins).

England equalled Australia (from 1992) for the most defeats by a defending champion in a World Cup edition with its fourth loss in six games.

Virat Kohli (32nd innings), Joe Root (22nd innings) and Ben Stokes (14th innings) recorded their first World Cup ducks in the match. Kohli and Root marked the first instance of both no. 3 batters being dismissed for nought in a World Cup game.

Rohit Sharma’s 66-ball fifty is his slowest since December 2019. He has struck 14 fifty-plus scores since then.

Rohit is now joint-second on the list for most ODI World Cup fifty-plus scores – 12. Sachin Tendulkar leads with 21 such scores.

Kohli also equalled Tendulkar (34) for most ducks while batting in the top seven in international cricket.

Rohit Sharma became the fifth Indian to complete 18000 international runs behind Tendulkar, Kohli, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly.

Rohit Sharma completed 1000 ODI runs in 2023, the third player to reach the mark behind Shubman Gill and Pathum Nissanka.

India reached its fifty in 14.2 overs, the slowest among all teams batting first in this World Cup.

India emerged victorious against England in a thrilling match in the ongoing 2023 World Cup. India beat England by 100 runs in a low-scoring thriller. Mohammed Shami (4 for 22) shone with a four-wicket haul in Lucknow as India successfully defended a total of 229 for 9 against the title holders England.  

Shami (4/22) and Bumrah (3/32) stole the show with the ball for the unstoppable hosts as England batters once against cut a sorry figure as they slumped to 129 all out in 34.5 overs for their fifth loss in six games.

Cricket fans were elated with the outcome and took to X, formerly Twitter to celebrate the win. 

A user wrote, “Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop! Rohit Sharma’s Team India is on a roll – 6/6.”

‘ , ‘ ! Rohit Sharma’s Team India is on a roll – 6/6.

Getty • #RohitSharma#INDvENG#INDvsENG#CricketComesHome#CWC23#TeamIndia#BharatArmy#COTI pic.twitter.com/VRSXhY88X8

— The Bharat Army (@thebharatarmy) October 29, 2023

Another user wrote, “Rohit Sharma… India’s best batter in challenging conditions…”

rohit sharma…. india’s best batter in challenging conditions… #INDvENG

— parthiv patel (@parthiv9) October 29, 2023

Many social media users shared videos of fireworks after defeating England in Ekana Stadium. 

“The DESERVING player of the match goes to ROHIT SHARMA.!!! The Hitman,” the third user wrote. 

The DESERVING player of the match goes to ROHIT SHARMA.!!!

The Hitman.!#INDvENGpic.twitter.com/BirvuSQXuU

— ᴘʀᴀᴛʜᴍᴇsʜ⁴⁵ (@45Fan_Prathmesh) October 29, 2023

“Bumrah and Shami destroying England batting lineup in Lucknow,” the fourth user wrote. 

Bumrah and Shami destroying England batting lineup in Lucknow #INDvENGpic.twitter.com/qy9uJIJf0V

— Sameer Allana (@HitmanCricket) October 29, 2023

“An Incredible Innings by Rohit Sharma,” the fifth user commented.

It was Rohit Sharma’s 87 and Suryakumar Yadav’s 49 that helped India post a fighting total after England skipper Jos Buttler won the toss and opted to bowl.

England are virtually out of semifinal contention while India, the only unbeaten side in the tournament, are almost there.

New Delhi:

British High Commissioner to India, Alex Ellis, is currently in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, to witness this India vs England face-off. Prior to the match, Mr Ellis engaged in a friendly cricket session with students from the Prerna Girls School.

In the video, Mr Ellis is seen wearing and England cricket jersey while gearing up to face the ball. The next attached to the clip, shared by ANI on X (formerly Twitter), read, “Alex Ellis, British High Commissioner to India plays cricket with the students of Prerna Girls School in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh.”

#WATCH | Alex Ellis, British High Commissioner to India plays cricket with the students of Prerna Girls School in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh pic.twitter.com/HNwMdJQJVh

— ANI (@ANI) October 29, 2023

In another video, Mr Ellis is seen engaging with the students. He greets the girls with “namaste” and wishes them a “good morning.” In addition to the students, he also interacts with the coach, organisers, and the scorekeeper.

#WATCH | Uttar Pradesh: Alex Ellis, British High Commissioner to India played cricket with the students of Prerna Girls School in Lucknow. He also interacted with the students. pic.twitter.com/FKHlxi1mse

— ANI (@ANI) October 29, 2023

Speaking about his visit to Lucknow and the India vs England match, Mr. Ellis told the news agency, “I’m very excited to be in Lucknow. It’s the most beautiful city. I am a little anxious about the game because India are playing very well and England are not playing so well. But I hope that we’re going to see a really tight game. There are some great players on both sides and it’s just a pleasure to be here in Lucknow.”

“I think India looks the best at the moment. Australia are coming through nicely. I think they look strong as well. South Africa’s batting is superb, probably India would be the favourite, I would think… I’m very excited for today’s match. I’ve seen England and India play many times before. It’s usually a good game, so I hope we’ll have the same today,” he added.

#WATCH | Uttar Pradesh: On the India vs England match in Lucknow today, Alex Ellis, British High Commissioner to India says, “I’m very excited to be in Lucknow. It’s the most beautiful city. I am a little anxious about the game because India are playing very well and England are… pic.twitter.com/Dst2nV7OCI

— ANI (@ANI) October 29, 2023

India vs England is hosted by the Ekana International Cricket Stadium, Lucknow.