Spark Cup women's cricket begins
Kanpur:
Shibu Singh Pal
's unbeaten knock of 84 runs and Ekta Singh's four wicket haul helped KCA (Red) beat Allahabad cricket Association by 5 wickets in the inaugural match of the third Dr Gaur Hari Singhania memorial state level women cricket championship for
Spark Cup
being played at Kamla Club on Monday.
Allahabad girls, batting first, posted 179 runs in 35 overs. For KCA, Ekta Singh and Archana Devi picked 4 and 3 wickets respectively.
KCA Red
, in reply, scored 181 runs for the loss of 5 wickets in 31.4 overs and won the match. Shibu Singh Pal hit an unbeaten 84 runs. Radha Pandey of Allahabad captured 4 wickets for 40 runs. After the match, Shibu Singh Pal was adjudged as woman of the match. Earlier morning, Neetu David, chairman Women selection committee of BCCI, inaugurated championship. Former test cricketer Rita Dey, Seema Sinha, PS Negi, Dinesh Katiyar were present.
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Where does the buck stop? Bengaluru stampede another grim reminder of utter lack of accountability?
A tragic stampede in Bengaluru during RCB's IPL 2025 victory celebration claimed 11 lives and injured over 75. This incident has raised serious questions about planning, crowd control, and accountability. Here's a deep dive into what went wrong. read more What happened in Bengaluru on Wednesday is heartbreaking and gut-wrenching on just so many levels. 11 people lost their lives and reportedly more than 75 were left injured , several reportedly in critical condition. This was news that left most people completely gob-smacked. The frenzy amongst RCB fans in Bengaluru was not surprising, after all the team has become IPL champions for the first time since the inception of the league in 2008. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD This was a dream 18 years in the making. What is surprising though that despite warnings and real concerns being raised, the people who took the call went ahead with this rather ill-timed and haphazardly put together event to celebrate the city's first IPL title. Cricket is a religion in India, yes, but nothing can trump safety, not even IPL euphoria. Anyone who lives in India knows just how quickly a crowd can become unruly and how difficult it can be to control a crowd that numbers in lakhs and is pumped-up on the heady cocktail of euphoria and hero-worship. Which is why this was another extremely grim reminder of how easily safety concerns are put in the backseat in the country. Did the powers that be forget that India is the most populous country in the world? Did they not know that RCB is an extremely popular IPL franchise, whose popularity extends well beyond the geographical borders of the city of Bengaluru and that potentially lakhs would show up to greet the team and catch one glimpse of their cricketing heroes? How could this happen? Who allowed it? And who should be held accountable? As things stand right now, the buck is being passed, as usual. The Karnataka Home Minister has gone on record to say – 'We did not request RCB or the KCA, they organised it. They are the ones who brought the team to Bengaluru. The government also felt it should facilitate this, as it was the Bengaluru team.' So, are we saying that the state government felt it could not put its foot down and demand that the victory parade be held at a later date, when overall public safety protocols could have been put in place better? 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