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India News Sports

‘Never thought I would play 100 Test matches’

Friday’s Test match against Sri Lanka at the IS Bindra PCA Stadium will make Kohli the 12th Indian and 71st cricketer overall to achieve the landmark…reports Asian Lite News

Senior India batter Virat Kohli said he had never thought that he would play 100 Test matches for India in a long journey of playing the longest format of the game.

Kohli made his Test debut against the West Indies in 2011, making just 4 and 15. But the low-key debut paved the path for achieving 7962 runs in 99 matches at an average of 50.39, including seven double centuries.

“I honestly never thought I would play 100 Test matches. It’s been a long journey. We played a lot of cricket over the course of playing these 100 Test matches. A lot of international cricket. I am just grateful that I’ve been able to make it to 100. God has been kind. I have worked really hard for my fitness. It’s a big moment for me, for my family, for my coach, who is also very happy and very proud of this Test match as long as I am concerned. It’s a very, very special moment,” said Kohli in a video posted by BCCI on their Twitter handle on Thursday.

Friday’s Test match against Sri Lanka at the IS Bindra PCA Stadium will make Kohli the 12th Indian and 71st cricketer overall to achieve the landmark. From an Indian perspective, Kohli joins an elite list featuring Sunil Gavaskar, Dilip Vengsarkar, Kapil Dev, Sachin Tendulkar, Anil Kumble, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman, Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh and Ishant Sharma to play 100 Tests for the country.

“I personally never grew up thinking that I have to score small runs. The idea was to score huge runs. I scored a lot of big double hundreds in junior cricket, I think seven to eight before reaching first-class level. My idea was to basically bat as long as I could and I enjoyed batting for long periods of time, bat sessions and try to win a game of cricket for my team, either a first-innings lead or two points according to the format.”

For Kohli’s 100th Test match, 50% crowd will be allowed inside the stadium, giving fans a good chance to celebrate the achievement. “These things really took a lot out of you and it revealed as well as tested your true character, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Test cricket needed to stay alive because people need to experience this. This is for me real cricket,” concluded Kohli.

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-Top News COVID-19 USA

Biden admin withdraws Covid testing mandate for businesses

The apex court did allow a vaccination mandate for health care workers at facilities receiving federal funding to go into force…reports Asian Lite News

The United States administration has formally withdrew the Covid vaccination-or-testing mandate for large businesses that was struck down by the Supreme Court, media reported.

However, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) said it “strongly encourages vaccination of workers against the continuing dangers posed by Covid-19 in the workplace” although it was withdrawing mandate.

US Supreme Court earlier this month blocked the Biden administration’s vaccine-or-test mandate for large businesses amid an increasingly heated nationwide debate on anti-pandemic regulations.

The apex court did allow a vaccination mandate for health care workers at facilities receiving federal funding to go into force.

In a 6-3 decision, the conservative-majority in the high court said the White House overstepped its authority by seeking to impose the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) rule requiring workers at US businesses with 100 or more employees to either get vaccinated or submit a negative Covid-19 test weekly.

The court’s decision came as Americans are becoming intensely divided over coronavirus-related measures, and some are fed up and frustrated by the strain the pandemic has put on daily life.

Earlier, thousands of Americans from across the country gathered in Washington D.C. for a march against Covid-19 vaccine mandates and other pandemic restrictions, as people were frustrated and fatigued by the recent surge in cases and the overall health crisis.

During the march on Sunday called “Defeat The Mandates: An American Homecoming”, protesters walked from the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. to decry Covid-19 mandates, reports Xinhua news agency.

The march was billed as a protest of vaccine mandates, vaccine passports, vaccines for children, and other pandemic requirements and restrictions.

Among those marching were firefighters, teachers, first responders, anti-vaccine activists and other groups.

At a press conference last week, President Joe Biden acknowledged that “there’s a lot of frustration and fatigue in this country” due to the pandemic.

“I know that after almost two years of physical, emotional, and psychological weight of this pandemic, the impact it’s had on everyone, for many of us, it’s been too much to bear,” Biden told reporters.

But Biden insisted that the US has made great progress in the fight against pandemic, and the administration will stick with vaccination efforts “because vaccinations work”.

Nearly a quarter of eligible Americans remain unvaccinated against Covid-19, according to data of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Anthony Fauci, the country’s top infectious disease expert, said on Sunday he is confident that most states in the country will reach a peak of Omicron infection cases by mid-February.

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Categories
Health India News

Pregnant women exempted from mandatory Covid test

Once admitted, the hospital can follow Covid protocol, get the patient tested and initiate necessary medical aid…reports Asian Lite News.

All kinds of people in the society suffer due to fast spread of Covid 19. In a major relief to pregnant women, the Lucknow District Magistrate Roshan Jacob has said that such women will be admitted in hospitals and given medical care without waiting for the mandatory Covid report.

People taking COVID-19 vaccination

The order from the district magistrate came after reports that pregnant women were being made to wait outside hospitals and on stretchers and in ambulances in the absence of the Covid report.

The district magistrate’s order now says that a reserve area for pregnant women needs to be created in all hospitals and patients need to be attended immediately.

Once admitted, the hospital can follow Covid protocol, get the patient tested and initiate necessary medical aid.

It said that failing to admit pregnant women will attract legal action under pandemic act.

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