top of page

By:

Correspondent

23 August 2024 at 4:29:04 pm

Queens Ascendant

Indian cricket has lived with an odd imbalance for decades. It has always been the men’s team that has commanded the money, the headlines and the expectations while women cricketers were expected merely to improve. Now, with their phenomenal Test win over England at Lord’s, it is the women who have reminded India what Test cricket looks like when played with ambition, discipline and nerve. The Indian women overwhelmed the English side by inflicting a crushing 270-run victory, dismissing...

Queens Ascendant

Indian cricket has lived with an odd imbalance for decades. It has always been the men’s team that has commanded the money, the headlines and the expectations while women cricketers were expected merely to improve. Now, with their phenomenal Test win over England at Lord’s, it is the women who have reminded India what Test cricket looks like when played with ambition, discipline and nerve. The Indian women overwhelmed the English side by inflicting a crushing 270-run victory, dismissing England for just 186 in their second innings and securing India’s first-ever women’s Test triumph. It was a victory rich in symbolism and richer still in substance. Yastika Bhatia produced an innings for the ages, scoring a majestic 113 to become the first woman ever to register a Test century at Lord’s. Her innings, composed with uncommon patience and authority, earned a deserved place on the Lord’s Honours Board. Debutant Kranti Gaud announced herself with a five-wicket haul that also secured immortality on the same board, while Richa Ghosh’s enterprising half-century accelerated India’s declaration and placed the match irretrievably beyond England's reach. But numbers alone tell only part of the story. Setting England an improbable target of 457, the Indian side attacked with conviction as the pace bowlers ripped through England’s top order, while the spinners maintained relentless pressure. Even England’s brief resistance through Amy Jones and Mady Villiers merely delayed the inevitable. The contrast with the Indian men’s team could scarcely be sharper. In recent months, the men’s side has looked increasingly uncertain in the format that once defined Indian cricket’s rise. Consecutive Test defeats against New Zealand and South Africa in 2024 and 2025 respectively exposed the rot at the edifice of Indian men’s cricket. The latest humiliation, a T20 defeat to Ireland, only reinforced the uncomfortable impression that Indian men’s cricket is suffering from the complacency that often accompanies abundance. Lucrative franchise contracts and cricket’s vast commercial ecosystem have insulated players from the consequences of failure. Unlike their male counterparts, India’s women have built their success with a fraction of the financial rewards, public attention and playing opportunities. Test matches remain rare and sponsorships remain comparatively modest. Yet scarcity has bred something that abundance sometimes cannot: hunger. Harmanpreet Kaur’s side arrived at Lord’s without the burden of celebrity but with an abundance of purpose. Their historic victory was built not on flashes of brilliance alone but on qualities that have always defined great Test sides, namely discipline and collective purpose. Genuine respect in cricket still depends upon performances in the longest format. The Indian women’s team has claimed not merely a famous win but a place in cricket’s enduring narrative. At Lord’s, India’s women reminded the world how champions are made. The men would be wise to take notes.

India working on logistics of Tahawwur Rana's extradition

  • PTI
  • Feb 14, 2025
  • 3 min read

Updated: Feb 18, 2025

Tahawwur Rana

Washington: India is working on the logistics of Tahawwur Rana's surrender and extradition from the US, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri has said, as President Donald Trump announced that his administration has given the go-ahead to extradite the 26/11 terror attack accused “to face justice".

“This is an issue on which the US authorities have taken very clear decisions. I think you've seen the President announce it himself from the White House podium" the decision of the US to extradite Rana, Misri said at a press conference here on Thursday.


During a joint press conference with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the White House, US President Donald Trump announced that his administration has approved the extradition of "very evil" Tahawwur Rana, wanted by Indian law enforcement agencies for his role in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, "to face justice in India”.


In response to a question by PTI on the timeframe by when Rana will be extradited to India, Misri said: "We are working on the logistics of his surrender and extradition to India. There are a few final steps to be completed. The two sides are in touch on this particular issue.”


The India-US joint statement issued during the Prime Minister's visit to the US notes that Modi and Trump reaffirmed that the global scourge of terrorism must be fought and terrorist safe havens eliminated from every corner of the world.

“They committed to strengthen cooperation against terrorist threats from groups, including Al-Qaeda, ISIS, Jaish-e Mohammad, and Lashkar-e-Tayyiba in order to prevent heinous acts like the attacks in Mumbai on 26/11 and the Abbey Gate bombing in Afghanistan on August 26, 2021," the joint statement said.


“Recognising a shared desire to bring to justice those who would harm our citizens, the US announced that the extradition to India of Tahawwur Rana has been approved," it said.


The leaders further called on Pakistan to expeditiously bring to justice the perpetrators of the 26/11 Mumbai, and Pathankot attacks and ensure that its territory is not used to carry out cross-border terrorist attacks.

"The leaders also pledged to work together to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems and to deny access to such weapons by terrorists and non-state actors,” the joint statement added.

Rana, a Canadian national of Pakistani origin, is currently lodged at a metropolitan detention centre in Los Angeles. He is known to be associated with Pakistani-American terrorist David Coleman Headley, one of the main conspirators of the 26/11 attacks.

Speaking at the joint press meet, Trump said "Today I am pleased to announce that my administration has approved the extradition of one of the plotters and very evil people of the world, and having to do with the horrific Mumbai terrorist attack, to face justice in India. So, he is going back to India to face justice."


The extradition of Rana was cleared by the US Supreme Court in January as it rejected his review petition in the case.


India last month said it was working with American authorities for the early extradition of Rana.


"The US Supreme Court on January 21 declined to hear a petition from the accused. We are now working with the US side on procedural issues for early extradition to India of the accused in the Mumbai terror attack," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal had said.


In November 2012, Ajmal Amir Kasab, the lone surviving gunman among the Pakistani group, was hanged to death in Yerawada Jail in Pune.

-PTI

Comments

bottom of page