T20 World Cup: 'We've Let Entire Nation Down', Says Matthews

T20 World Cup: 'We've Let Entire Nation Down', Says Matthews After SL's Exit

by Pabitra Mohan Senapaty

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS

Sri Lanka veteran all-rounder Angelo Matthews said their early exit from the T20 World Cup has let down the entire nation.

Gros Islet (St Lucia), June 16: Sri Lanka veteran all-rounder Angelo Matthews said their early exit from the T20 World Cup has let down the entire nation.

Sri Lanka suffered two straight defeats against South Africa and Bangladesh in Group D before a washout against Nepal in Florida. The Island nation will take on the Netherlands in their final league-stage match on Monday.

Matthews said the side will play for pride in their last match at the showpiece event.

"I think first of all we've let the entire nation down and we are really sorry because we've let ourselves down. We never expected this. I mean, we came across a lot of challenges but those are not something to sort of worry about, but it's unfortunate that we didn't make the second round," Mathews said in the pre-match press conference.

"We have just one more game in the tournament, and we'll play for our pride. And we haven't done justice to ourselves, especially the way we played in the first two games. So, it's very unfortunate, we are heartbroken and we are hurting so much within ourselves," he added.

The 37-year-old said their dismal performance in the showpiece event didn't do justice to their capabilities after defeating Afghanistan and Bangladesh in the lead up to the tournament.

"That's something that we regret because the way we played Afghanistan, Zimbabwe, and Bangladesh in Bangladesh, I thought we didn't do justice for our capabilities in this tournament.

"I mean, as you say, when you come into a World Cup, you can't take any team lightly but unfortunately the way we played against those teams just before the World Cup and then once we came back here and the way we played... obviously the wickets were quite different but we didn't do justice to ourselves," he said.

Matthews also mentioned the fact that Sri Lanka's matches were scheduled at four different venues and they had to travel the most in this World Cup but he asserted it can't be an excuse for the below-par outing.

"We are very frustrated as I mentioned earlier a few times. I think in my career, we have never travelled this much for a World Cup. It's not an excuse, but it is about the reality. I think that only Sri Lanka and the Dutch team played the four matches of this tournament in four different locations.

"As I said before it's not an excuse, but in my career, this is the most travelled World Cup in history. But as I said before, we were not able to achieve our hope as a team or as a country. I'm very sorry about it," he said.

--IANS

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Tension at Bengal’s Birati Station after woman caught with child hidden in bag

by Utkalika Mohanty

Kolkata, June 26: There was a tense situation at Birati Railway Station in North 24 Parganas District of West Bengal after a woman was caught with a child hidden in her bag.

Residents of the area and passengers accused the woman of kidnapping the kid.

Passengers said that they noticed the child hidden in the woman's bag on a local train going to Sealdah from Dattapukur under Bangaon Division of North 24 Parganas.

The passengers nabbed the woman and handed her and the child over to the Railway police after the train reached Birati Station.

Passengers told the police and the media that the body language of the woman was suspicious.

Their suspicion mounted further as she refused to answer the questions of passengers travelling in the women’s compartment and tried to move away.

“As the train reached Birati Station, she tried to escape, leaving the child behind. But we overpowered her and handed her over to the Railway police,” said a passenger.

However, the matter did not end there as people started protesting, demanding a thorough probe into the matter and some of them even blocked the railway tracks, leading to a commotion.

However, after police intervention, the people withdrew their protest and at the time of filing of the report, the situation had turned normal.

--IANS

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RBI Chief sees India on path to steady 8 pc GDP growth

by Utkalika Mohanty

Mumbai, June 26: RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das sees India moving ahead towards an 8 per cent GDP growth trajectory on a sustained basis, driven by structural economic reforms such as GST.

"If you look at the average growth India recorded over the three years, the average comes to 8.3 per cent and the current year we have given a projection of 7.2 per cent growth," Das said at the 188th AGM (Annual General Meeting) of Bombay Chamber of Commerce & Industry.

India's growth momentum remains strong and could improve further in the coming months. The country was on a path to achieving 8 per cent growth on a sustained basis, he added.

The RBI Governor also said there was clear evidence of private sector capital expenditure having picked up momentum, which should help growth further.

He also highlighted India’s contribution to global growth amid the worldwide economic slowdown.

“The Indian economy in the last financial year 2023-24 contributed to 18.5 per cent of the global growth, i.e., 18.5 per cent of the global growth was driven by India. It is an achievement as it was much lower 7 or 8 years ago and I think the IMF projects this growth to go up,” he said.

He said that the major drivers of this growth are the implementation of GST, the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, and Flexible Inflation Targeting.

"GST has the advantage of avoiding the multiplicity of taxes. It is one of India's biggest structural reforms since 1947," he remarked.

GST collections have touched 1.7 lakh crore in a month and it is in a range of 1.5 to 1.7 lakh crore every month, he added.

He also highlighted the fact that India is poised to become the third-largest economy in the world from its current position as the fifth-largest.

--IANS

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17th Lok Sabha Will Be Considered Golden Period In Parliamentary History: PM Modi

by Shambhu Datta Mishra

New Delhi, June 26: Prime Minister Narendra Modi Wednesday extended his wishes to Om Birla for being elected as the Speaker of the 18th Lok Sabha and said that it is a huge responsibility to sit in this post for the second time during the Amrit Kaal.

PM Modi also asserted that the decision taken in the 17th Lok Sabha under the presidency of Om Birla will be considered a golden period in parliamentary history.

"Respected Speaker, it is the good fortune of the House that you are occupying this chair for the second time. I congratulate you and the entire House. I want to congratulate you on behalf of the House. It is a huge responsibility for you to sit on this post for the second time during the Amrit Kaal. With your experience, we hope that you will guide us for the next 5 years. 'Aapke chehre par yeh meethi meethi muskaan poore Sadan ko prasann rakhti hai'," he said.

"Becoming the Speaker for the second time is a record in itself. Balram Jakhar got the opportunity to serve as the Speaker for the second term after competing for five years and today you are doing the same. The way you work as an MP is worth learning. Your style will inspire our young MPs," PM Modi added.

Further, the Prime Minister said that the 17th Lok Sabha has played an important role in giving direction to the future of India.

"The historical decisions taken in the Parliament under your chairmanship are a legacy of the Parliament and also of you. In future when there will be analysis regarding the 17th Lok Sabha, it will be written that the 17th Lok Sabha under your chairmanship has played a very important role in giving a new direction to the future of India," PM Modi said.

"In the 17th Lok Sabha, Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam 2023, Jammu and Kashmir reorganization act, Bharatiya Nyaye Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita, Samajik Suraksha Sanhita, Digital personal data protection bill, Muslim Women Marriage Rights Protection Bill, Consumer protection bill, direct tax, so many such important laws have been passed in this House during your presidency, which have laid the strong foundation of the country," the Prime Minister added.

PM Modi also pointed out that under Birla's guidance, the productivity of the 17th Lok Sabha has been the highest in 25 years at 97 per cent.

"For this, you deserve special congratulations. During Corona, you called every MP and enquired about their well-being. Even during that time, you did not let the work of the house stop. During the Corona period, the productivity of the crop increased by 170 per cent. This is very big news for the world," he said.

The house echoed with 'Ayes' and 'Noes' and the pro-tem speaker Bhartruhari Mahtab declared Om Birla as the Speaker of the lower house. The opposition which had filed K Suresh as the Speaker candidate of the INDIA bloc did not press for a division vote.

Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi also extended wishes to Birla and accompanied him to the chair along with Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju and PM Modi.

(ANI)

T20 World Cup: 'We've Let Entire Nation Down', Says Matthews

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