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South Africa have hardly put a foot wrong in their march to the Twenty20 World Cup semi-finals, but complacency can have no place against a New Zealand side famed for punching above their weight when the teams meet at Eden Gardens Wednesday. The Proteas are the tournament’s only unbeaten side and look a far more rounded T20 unit than the one that fell at the last hurdle in 2024. They beat New Zealand in the group stage and have earned the favourites’ tag that rested with defending champions India before the start of the tournament. India face England in the other semi-final on Thursday. “I’m glad that we’re favourites, because I’ve always felt that as a South African team you want to be able to play as a favourite,” head coach Shukri Conrad said, suggesting they were enjoying the spotlight. Since surviving a double Super Over against Afghanistan, Aiden Markram’s side have not taken their foot off the pedal. In Quinton de Kock, Markram and Ryan Rickelton, they field a top order capable of banking a powerplay head-start, with an explosive middle order offering little respite when the openers do not fire. South Africa complement it with a varied bowling attack. Kagiso Rabada’s hard, Test-match lengths and Marco Jansen’s left-arm bounce have cramped batters, while Lungi Ngidi’s change-ups have been a revelation across phases. Left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj provides control if conditions grip, with Markram holding himself back for match-ups. South Africa have looked ominous so far but the knockout stage brings its own challenge. Besides, New Zealand can be a tricky opponent. New Zealand opener Finn Allen’s ultra aggression is often the powerplay disruptor alongside a rotating partner – Devon Conway or Tim Seifert. All-rounder Rachin Ravindra’s ability to change gears sets a platform for Glenn Phillips and Daryl Mitchell to attack the back end. Their pace attack does not have a settled look though. The Black Caps are likely to miss the services of fast bowler Matt Henry, who is back home on paternity leave. Jacob Duffy or Kyle Jamieson could replace him. Their spin unit looks well covered however. Captain Mitchell Santner’s stump-to-stump trajectory is a key match-up against de Kock and Markram, and Ish Sodhi’s leg-spin could trouble South Africa’s right-hand middle. “We faced them in Ahmedabad, which I think is a venue that they’ve grown pretty used to given that they’ve spent a fair bit of time there,” New Zealand’s head coach Rob Walter said. “The semi-finals will be in a different venue. It will provide a different challenge.” Related Story Source link
Kuwait National Petroleum Company and the Kuwait Integrated Petroleum Industries Company (KIPIC) reported that debris fell at the Mina Al Ahmadi refinery early Monday, causing minor injuries to two workers.Ghanem Al Otaibi, the official spokesperson for both companies, stated in a press release that the injured were transported to the hospital to receive necessary medical care, confirming that both cases are currently stable and under medical observation.Al Otaibi emphasized that operational and production activities at the refinery were not affected and continued without interruption. Emergency teams responded immediately after the incident, and the rapid response plan was activated with all precautionary measures implemented to ensure the safety of employees and facilities, which sustained no damage.He added that the Mina Al Ahmadi Refinery continues to operate at full capacity, with the highest priority given to the safety of its personnel across all sites. Source link
Florain Wirtz, who suffered a back injury warming up ahead of last month’s visit to Nottingham Forest, missed Liverpool’s 5-2 home win over West Ham United…
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim warned that the ongoing military escalation in the Middle East poses significant risks to regional security and stability, particularly in the Gulf states.In a speech before the Malaysian Parliament today regarding the security situation in the region, Ibrahim stated that Malaysia calls for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire and a constructive return to the negotiation path. He emphasized his country’s opposition to the Israeli-American attacks against Iran, which he said “could drag the region into a wider conflict.”Anwar pointed out that Israel continues to repeatedly violate international resolutions, including a series of attacks in Lebanon, Iraq, and Syria, as well as the ongoing massacres of Palestinians in Gaza. He explained that Malaysia believes it is necessary to take a firm stance against any actions that contravene the international order, in order to uphold the principle of the sovereignty of independent states.The Malaysian Prime Minister stressed that attacks on sovereign states will continue in the absence of tangible cooperation among the countries of the region. Source link
India Monday hailed Sanju Samson as a “game-changer” after the opener’s batting masterclass in Kolkata took the defending champions into the T20 World Cup semi-finals. Samson’s unbeaten 97 led India’s chase of 196 against the West Indies in the last Super Eights match to set up a semi-final against England in Mumbai on Thursday. Samson paced his innings to perfection and had more than a billion India fans erupting in joy on Sunday night when he hit Romario Shepherd for a six and four to complete the chase at Eden Gardens. “Handling the final overs well in both innings gave us the edge,” India’s batting great Sachin Tendulkar wrote on X. “Sanju Samson’s calm presence at the crease was wonderful to watch. That kind of presence lifts a side. Brilliant effort from everyone. On to the semi-finals!” Former India batsman Mohammad Kaif said: “Sanju Samson the man for India in a do-or-die game. Focus is never on him but he proves to be the game-changer.” The 31-year-old Samson has been in and out of the Indian team and played just one group match against Namibia in the absence of opener Abhishek Sharma. India brought back Samson in their Super Eights match against Zimbabwe to break up the all left-handed opening partnership of Abhishek and Ishan Kishan. India’s media were lavish in their praise for Samson, who saved India from a humiliating early tournament exit on home soil. “Superman Sanju rescues India,” blazed the Times of India. India coach Gautam Gambhir called Samson “world-class”. “We all know how good a player Sanju is and it was all about backing him,” Gambhir told reporters. “Today was a day where he probably showed his true potential.” Veteran spinner Harbhajan Singh also hailed Samson, saying it has made all of us proud. He also highlighted India’s ace seamer Jasprit Bumrah’s crucial breakthroughs. In an X post, Harbhajan Singh wrote, “Today @IamSanjuSamson has made all of us proud. Critical breakthroughs by @Jaspritbumrah93 also helped Team India. Congratulations #MenInBlue for the wonderful win. Our hearts stopped several times throughout the match, but all is well that ends well. Happy for #TeamIndia. Best wishes for the ultimate one.” Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan termed Samson’s gritty 97* as the best innings of his career and highlighted his maturity throughout the innings. “The best innings of his career, considering the match situation. The maturity he showed throughout was outstanding. A top-class, match-winning knock from Sanju Samson,” Irfan Pathan wrote in an X post. Former Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan heaped praises on Samson’s masterclass fifty, saying he stepped up when it mattered most. “@IamSanjuSamson stepped up when it mattered most. Highest score by an Indian in a T20 WC run chase, brilliant effort with the bat, supported by @IamShivamDube’s cameo, and the bowlers led by @Jaspritbumrah93 doing the hard work early. Semi-finals, here we come,” Dhawan wrote in an X post. Former Indian star Suresh Raina hailed India’s clinical performance and labelled Samson’s innings as ‘pure dominance’. “Well played, boys! Clinical performance, unstoppable spirit, and a true champion’s mindset on display. One step closer to glory – let’s bring it home! Pure dominance from @IamSanjuSamson,” Raina wrote in an X post. West Indies veteran seamer Ian Bishop also lauded Samson’s innings, “Respect the name: Sanju Samson!!!” he said according to a report in sports.ndtv.com. Samson, who made his debut in 2015, has played just 60 Twenty20 matches for India since. “I always say, good things happen to good people who wait, who have a lot of patience,” said India captain Suryakumar Yadav. South Africa face New Zealand in the first semi-final tomorrow in Kolkata. The final is in Ahmedabad on Sunday. Related Story Source link
Long queues formed at fuel stations across Sri Lanka Monday as the conflict in Iran fed fears of oil shortages in the island nation, which is still recovering from a deep financial crisis.The nation of 22mn people is clawing its way back from a crisis brought about by a record shortfall of dollars in 2022, supported by a $2.9bn loan programme from the International Monetary Fund.At the height of its problems Sri Lanka faced a massive fuel shortage for months that sparked huge protests and the eventual ousting of former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa in July 2022.Monday, people lined up at fuel stations across the island as US and Israeli strikes on Iran stoked fears of another fuel shortage.Many people were panic buying despite assurances from the authorities that Sri Lanka had enough stocks of diesel and petrol to last 35 and 37 days, respectively — the full amount that the country usually stores.’There is fuel. People are panicking because of the war and they are themselves creating these lines. So people are just flocking to the stations, but there is enough fuel in Sri Lanka,’ said Mohammed Aslem, a 36-year-old three-wheeler driver standing in a fuel queue in Colombo.Sri Lanka spent $3.83bn on fuel imports last year, according to government data, with most shipments arriving from India and Singapore.’Sri Lanka does not have enough storage facilities to store fuel beyond the next few weeks, but there are sufficient confirmed shipments till the end of this month,’ said S. Rajakaruna, chairman of the state-run Ceylon Petroleum Corp told reporters.The CPC also stepped up distribution, releasing more than 5mn litres of fuel despite Monday being a public holiday, Rajakaruna added.Police have ordered stations to stop dispensing fuel into cans and have warned of legal action against hoarders.Lanka IOC PLC, a unit of Indian Oil Corp, and China's Sinopec who also operate fuel stations reassured the public of adequate supply. Source link
The Saudi Ministry of Energy announced that the Ras Tanura oil refinery sustained limited damage due to debris resulting from the interception of two drones in the perimeter of the refinery.The Saudi Press Agency (SPA) quoted an official source at the Ministry as saying that the incident caused a limited fire, which was immediately handled by emergency response teams, without any injuries or fatalities.The source added that some operational units at the refinery were temporarily shut down as a precautionary measure, without affecting the supply of petroleum and its derivatives to local markets. Source link
Formula One is keeping a close eye on the situation in the Middle East and any decision on races scheduled for Bahrain and Saudi Arabia next month will be guided by safety, the sport and governing body FIA said.Australian Grand Prix chief executive Travis Auld expected there to be no impact on this weekend’s season-opener at Melbourne’s Albert Park from travel issues caused by conflict in the Gulf region. US and Israeli bombing of Iran at the weekend was followed by retaliatory strikes on Gulf States with the result that all activity in one of the world’s main aviation hubs has ceased.Formula One teams recently completed pre-season testing in the Gulf State of Bahrain and many personnel were scheduled to pass through Qatar or the United Arab Emirates on their journey to Australia for Sunday’s race.”No doubts the events of the weekend have thrown out the travel plans for the teams and F1 themselves,” Auld said. “F1 are experts at moving people around the world and so they’ve quickly rescheduled flights. I’m told, everyone’s now locked in and arriving within the required timeframes, and so there’ll be no impact on our race.”The season-opener will be followed in March by races in China and Japan before the first of the Gulf races on the Formula One calendar in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia in April. Qatar and Abu Dhabi are the season-enders in November and December.Mohammed Ben Sulayem, the Emirati who heads the governing International Automobile Federation (FIA), said in a statement his thoughts were with all those affected. “We are in close contact with our member clubs, championship promoters, teams, and colleagues on the ground as we monitor developments carefully and responsibly,” he added. “Safety and wellbeing will guide our decisions as we assess the forthcoming events scheduled there for the FIA World Endurance Championship and the FIA Formula One world championship.”Formula One said separately it was closely monitoring the situation. Auld said that the nature of the Albert Park venue made it unlikely that Melbourne would be able to step in and stage another race if the conflict meant Bahrain or Saudi Arabia were unable to host their rounds.”Obviously, we spent a lot of time constructing this circuit, and straight after the race, we pull it all back down again so the community can use it,” he said. “They’ll have other plans in place, as you would imagine, for a whole series of reasons.”The Middle Eastern races are significant contributors to Formula One’s revenues through hosting fees worth many tens of millions of dollars but Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar also have deep ties to the sport. Bahrain’s sovereign wealth fund owns McLaren Racing while Abu Dhabi controls the sportscar company. Qatar has a significant investment in F1 newcomers Audi.Saudi energy giant Aramco is a global partner of the sport and title sponsor of the Aston Martin team. Formula One ran races without spectators during the COVID-19 pandemic and also has a list of circuits that might be able to step in at short notice, should that be required.In 2022 the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix went ahead despite rocket attacks by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis on an oil facility near the Jeddah street circuit. Related Story Source link
Sultan Haitham bin Tariq of Oman discussed in phone calls on Monday with Lebanese President General Joseph Aoun, French President Emmanuel Macron, and Pakistani Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif the military escalatory developments currently unfolding in the region, along with the consequences that could compromise the security and stability of the peoples.During these calls, they emphasized the criticality of combined global efforts to immediately stop the mounting tensions and return to the paths of dialogue and diplomacy, thereby helping contain the crisis and reinforce security and stability. Source link
Barcelona’s German coach Hans-Dieter Flick is pictured before the Spanish league football match between FC Barcelona and Villarreal CF at Camp Nou Stadium in Barcelona on…