Russia joined other UN Security Council members on Tuesday (May 19, 2026) to condemn the drone strike on the UAE’s Barakah nuclear power plant, which Abu Dhabi said originated from Iraq where pro-Iranian proxies are active. The unclaimed drone struck an electrical generator on Sunday (May 17
Vice President J.D. Vance reassured Americans on Tuesday (May 19, 2026) that President Donald Trump's war with Iran will not become a "forever war," using a White House briefing to defend his boss's policies as speculation about his potential successor builds.Vice President J.D
Frequent burning sensation after meals? Harvard gastroenterologist shares foods to avoid and eat for heartburn reliefHeartburn after coffee, spicy food or late-night snacks? Dr Saurabh Sethi shares foods that may worsen acid reflux and what may help soothe it. Published on: May 20
Matchmaker shares the one male insecurity that can outweigh even an IIM degree in biodata: 'If a boy doesn't have…'Hair over Harvard? Matchmaker shares real story of a common male insecurity in arranged marriage market that leads to biodata rejection. Updated on: May 20
Indian man in Europe says people value life after 5 pm over promotions: ‘Nobody glorifies working late’An Indian man said Europe’s biggest work culture shock was seeing people value life after work more than staying busy. Published on: May 20
Pratika’s absence sends India think tank scrambling
Mumbai: As if it isn't already tough enough to take on an Australian side brimming with daggers in its armoury in a semi-final, India have also been thrown a spanner in the works.
Opener Pratika Rawal was ruled out from the knockouts of the ICC Women's World Cup after the nasty fall in the co-hosts' weather-abandoned match against Bangladesh in Navi Mumbai on Sunday evening. Shafali Verma, whose spot Pratika took in India's ODI setup, was approved as replacement by the International Cricket Council's event technical committee.
The jarring and twisting of Pratika's right ankle on a rain-soaked DY Patil Stadium outfield appeared bad on first look, and the worst possibility from an Indian team viewpoint became apparent on Monday, two days ahead of the semi-final against the mighty defending champions.
The 25-year-old was in the midst of a breakthrough World Cup debut, hitting her peak form at the business end. Her quality 122 in India's penultimate group match against New Zealand on the same ground set the platform for a crucial India victory, and made her the tournament's second-highest run scorer (308 runs in 7 innings at an average of 51.33).
Although her strike rate (77.77) was a point of contention, she played her part in forging a solid combination with the one above her on the top-scorers' chart, Smriti Mandhana. The duo was involved in two of the tournament's top five partnerships, one of them against Australia (155) in their group stage encounter.
“The timing of the injury is very unfortunate, coming just before a semi-final against Australia,” said former India captain Diana Edulji. “Pratika was looking really good, especially in her century against New Zealand. It's just bad luck.”
Their opening act was one of the few aspects operating on autopilot in the Indian batting order this World Cup. Now, Smriti will have to get the team running with a new co-pilot. One that would not have batted at the top all tournament, or even of late after Pratika made her international debut in December 2024.
Shafali, the swashbuckling opener who has scored 644 runs in 29 ODIs, did not find her name even in the reserves after dip in form. From the original list named by the selectors in August, Uma Chetry was bumped up into the squad from the reserves after Yastika Bhatia was ruled out with a knee injury.
Shafali, however, has been doing well in domestic cricket for Haryana of late. Although in a different format, she is the leading run-scorer in the ongoing Senior Women's T20 Trophy, with 341 runs in 9 matches at an average of 56.83 and strike rate of 182.35. In the World Cup warm-up game against New Zealand in Bengaluru, she hit 70 off 49 balls. The 21-year-old has also partnered Smriti in the past with reasonable success.
Edulji said the team management should go with the replacement player for the semi-final.
“I would say the best option is definitely to go with Shafali. She is currently playing domestic cricket and has been doing well, so it's not like she has no cricket under her belt,” said Edulji. “Even someone like Humairaa Kaazi (the Mumbai opener has the fourth highest runs in the domestic T20 tournament), who has scored a lot of runs lately, could have been tried out.”
Amanjot Kaur was tried out in the chase against Bangladesh and remained unbeaten on 15 off 25 in a 57-run opening stand when rain abandoned play. The team management may look at some other options within the squad too, should it be wary of throwing in Shafali straightaway for the knockout.
Jemimah Rodrigues played a brilliant innings at No.3 against New Zealand. The Mumbai batter has opened in 18 of her 57 ODIs between 2018 and 2021, and also shares a good rapport with Smriti.
Harleen Deol, the primary No.3, has never opened but plays a similar game style to Pratika and likes to anchor the innings.
Chetry has opened in the World Cup warm-up games and also in T20Is. She can also keep wicket, especially if Richa Ghosh, who copped a blow on her finger against New Zealand and sat out of the Bangladesh match, also isn't a 100 percent.
Whether they throw in Shafali or pull out someone from within, Pratika's injury has left the think tank with plenty to ponder. For a semi-final against Australia, no less.
Source: HindustanTimes
Related Posts: AI isn’t coming for jobs—it’s already replacing them by the thousands When Karma Isn't Enough Ricky Ponting gives bold take on Australia's first round exit at T20 WC 2026 Australia social media ban set to take effect Inside Australia's billion-dollar bid to take on China's rare earth dominance Argentina Likely To Take On Australia In Kerala During India Tour Three Indian cricketers take an Uber in Australia Surya’s form in focus as India take on Australia in the first T20I Ever-improving India take on Australia in second AFC Futsal Asian Cup qualifier University Of Western Australia To Open Mumbai
stuck to their holdings in companies with strong fundamentals in April, particularly technology and , according to a report on Wednesday from data platform Hazeltree, in a month when the S&P 500 jumped over 10%.Here are the details about hedge fund positioning in April:Among mega-cap
1 days ago
Kerala Chief Minister V D Satheesan has defended using his caste surname Menon during his swearing-in. He stated he was only mentioning his father's name. This move sparked debate on social media and among Congress leaders. Some see it as a political message to the Hindu community
1 days ago
Madison Square Garden may have been left as scorched earth by the end of the night. But honestly? New York Knicks fans could not have been happier. Because the ‘Brunson Burner’ was turned all the way up. NEW YORK WENT ON A 44-11 RUN TO COMPLETE A 22-POINT COMEBACK WIN IN GAME 1 💨DOWN 22 WITH
1 days ago
Rahul Gandhi asserts the Constitution faces an attack. He emphasizes its importance as a reflection of Ambedkar and Gandhi's ideals. Gandhi warns of rising inflation and criticizes the Prime Minister's actions. He calls for collective defense of equality and justice
1 days ago
Pune techie says manager ‘fought’ to protect him from extra work during notice period: ‘God I am lucky’A Pune man praised his manager for protecting him from extra work during his notice period. Published on: May 20, 2026 2:28 PM IST By Mahipal Singh Chouhan Share via Copy link A Pune
1 days ago
Israeli air strikes have killed at least 19 people in southern Lebanon, the country's health ministry has said. Ten of them, including three children and three women, were killed in a single attack that hit a house in the town of Deir Qanoun, the ministry said
1 days ago
The AI ecosystem is entering a new phase where specialised utility is becoming as important as scale. Emerging platforms like Claude, Perplexity, Grok, and Copilot are driving this shift by delivering workflow-specific intelligence for businesses, researchers, and everyday users
1 days ago
Rhea Chakraborty announces social media break: 'I'm taking a step back for a while'She also plans to take a break from social media, seeking to reconnect with her true self amid overwhelming online pressures. May 20, 2026, 14:25:05 IST By Monica Yadav Share via Copy link Actor Rhea Chakraborty has
1 days ago
Indian equity benchmarks recovered sharply from early losses on May 20, with frontline indices nearly erasing the morning decline by 11:30 am, aided by buying in heavyweight Reliance Industries, auto stocks and select financial names. However
1 days ago
15 years of Pyaar Ka Punchnama: Kartik Aaryan, Nushrratt Bharuccha, Divyenndu and other leading stars' career graphAs Kartik Aaryan's debut Pyaar Ka Punchnama completes 15 years today, we take a look at how the six leading actors from the 2011 film have fared since then Updated on: May 20
1 days ago
Dowry, domestic violence, and the unsafe reality for Indian womenThis article is authored by Ranjana Kumari, director, Centre for Social Research and author of Brides are not for Burning. Published on: May 20, 2026 11:03 AM IST By Ranjana Kumari Share via Copy link Dowry in India is no longer
1 days ago
An unexpected AI development stole the spotlight from Google I/O. Here’s whatAndrej Karpathy's announcement of joining Anthropic garnered 17 million views on X, surpassing Google I/O's livestream views of 8.5 million Published on: May 20, 2026 11:02 AM IST By Sanya Jain Share via Copy link
1 days ago
‘Completely false, fabricated’: TMC responds to ‘leaked’ municipal notice to MP Abhishek BanerjeeThe TMC statement urged journalists to visit the addresses mentioned or call the numbers cited in the notice to verify the facts. Updated on: May 20
1 days ago
Cockroach Janata Party vs National Parasitic Front: The new political battle brewing in IndiaFounded by Abhijeet Dipke, the Cockroach Janata Party has rapidly exploded across X and Instagram.drawing followers by the thousands. Updated on: May 20
1 days ago
China has confirmed that it will buy 200 Boeing jets after US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping met in Beijing last week. Under the deal, the US will provide China with supply guarantees for aircraft engine parts and components
1 days ago
Editorial independence is core to our work. Some links may earn us a commission, without influencing our opinions.This mistake almost cost me my GST refund at Changi Airport; Buy these Charles & Keith handbags in India insteadA simple mistake at Changi Airport nearly cost us our GST refund after a
1 days ago
Meta Layoffs: Meta is preparing to lay off nearly 8,000 employees this week in one of its largest workforce cuts yet, as CEO Mark Zuckerberg accelerates a massive restructuring of the company around artificial intelligence. According to a leaked internal memo from Meta HR chief Janelle Gale
1 days ago
The United States and Cuba held talks this week on a U.S. offer of $100 million in assistance, which Washington has dangled as an incentive for reforms, a U.S. official said on Tuesday (May 19, 2026). Mike Hammer, the acting U.S. ambassador to Havana, met on Monday (May 18
1 days ago
As temperatures continue to soar during Indian summers, dehydration is becoming increasingly common, pushing many people towards packaged hydrating drinks and sports beverages. However, plain water alone is not always enough to keep the body properly hydrated. Essential minerals like sodium
1 days ago
The legendary GTI badge goes electric for the first time. The Volkswagen ID Polo GTI Electric was originally previewed as the ID. 2all concept in 2023. It has a 0 to 100km/h sprint time of 6.8 seconds. Volkswagen has unveiled an electric version of its famous ID. Polo hatchback. While the new
1 days ago
Mouni Roy brings India to Cannes with chic patola print gown, dazzles the night in midnight blue dressAt Cannes, Mouni Roy donned two striking looks, including a chic midnight-blue gown and a stunning patola-embroidered dress. Published on: May 20
1 days ago
' union plans for 48,000 workers to walk off the job on Thursday after efforts to clinch a deal on bonus payments fell through, threatening the health of South Korea's economy and the global supply of semiconductors.Union leader said that the 18-day strike would go ahead as management had not
1 days ago
Gurugram-based lending company Oxyzo Financial Services is looking to acquire Rainmatter-backed GoldenPi Technologies, an online bond distribution platform, the company said in a note on May 19.Oxyzo is the financial arm of B2B ecommerce unicorn startup OfBusiness.Through the acquisition, Oxyzo
1 days ago
Bengaluru techie explains why life in Germany felt calmer than India: ‘Never opened laptop after work’A Bengaluru techie said life in Germany felt quieter and more balanced than his daily routine in Bengaluru. Published on: May 20, 2026 10:05 AM IST By Mahipal Singh Chouhan Share via Copy link
1 days ago
One of the most expensive Korean films ever made, this epic sci-fi begins as a "breathless rollercoaster ride" and mashes up The Terminator, Predator, Aliens and Avatar. The films that compete for the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival are known for their depth
1 days ago
Cornell professor talks AI chaos, and dismissing AI writersThe biggest AI developments, decoded. 20 May 2026. Published on: May 20, 2026 8:00 AM IST By Vishal Mathur Share via Copy link Cognitive warmup. Actor, comedian and filmmaker Seth Rogen has some choice words for creatives using AI to
1 days ago
Qatar said on Tuesday (May 19, 2026) that U.S.-Iran negotiations, mediated by Pakistan, required more time to reach a deal, a day after President Donald Trump said he had postponed planned attacks to give the process a chance. "We are supportive of the diplomatic effort by Pakistan that has shown
1 days ago
