Pramod Thomas is a senior correspondent with Asian Media Group since 2020, bringing 19 years of journalism experience across business, politics, sports, communities, and international relations. His career spans both traditional and digital media platforms, with eight years specifically focused on digital journalism. This blend of experience positions him well to navigate the evolving media landscape and deliver content across various formats. He has worked with national and international media organisations, giving him a broad perspective on global news trends and reporting standards.
THE 78-run partnership between Harry Brook and Liam Livingstone may prove to be crucial for England's semi-final hopes even though it fell just short of getting them a victory over South Africa in the T20 World Cup on Friday (21), captain Jos Buttler said.
Brook and Livingstone's fifth-wicket stand helped the defending champions get within seven runs of the target, creating a clearer path to semis despite hosts West Indies pulling ahead in the group with a dominant nine-wicket win over the US.
"I think Brook and Livingstone had a fantastic partnership on a slow wicket where other guys struggled," Buttler told reporters in Gros Islet. "The big picture is obviously net run rate."
West Indies, tied with England on two points, rose to second place in Group Two thanks to a superior net run rate of 1.814. Third-placed England have a net run rate of 0.412, close to leaders South Africa (0.625) who have four points.
This makes it easier for England to overtake South Africa's net run rate with a win over the US on Sunday (23), if the leaders lose to West Indies. If South Africa win, England would ensure second place outright with four points.
South Africa, who have won all six matches in the tournament, now face a potential do-or-die scenario where a loss to West Indies may leave them out of the top two and a place in the semis.
South Africa's Quinton de Kock got a second straight fifty while Anrich Nortje bowled a tight final over to help their side edge England by seven runs on Friday.
Put in to bat first, openers De Kock (65 off 38) and Reeza Hendricks (19) got South Africa off to a good start, scoring 63 runs in the powerplay as an in-form De Kock reached a half-century in just 22 balls, his second fifty in row.
"I've played a few (Caribbean Premier League) games here," player of the match De Kock said, crediting his league experience for his knowledge of the playing conditions at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground.
But South Africa added only 29 runs in the next six overs with both openers falling to Moeen Ali (1-25) and Jofra Archer (3-40), while Adil Rashid (1-20) kept a tight lid on the scoreboard.
However, David Miller (43 off 28) stepped up under pressure to get the runs flowing again, helping South Africa get to a competitive 163-6.
As England began their chase, Kagiso Rabada (2-32) dismissed Phil Salt (11) early on before Keshav Maharaj (2-25) got the better of Jonny Bairstow (16) and Jos Buttler (17), leaving the champions looking shaky at 61-4 in the 11th over.
But Harry Brook (53 off 37) and Liam Livingstone (33 off 17) stabilised their innings, and with 77 needed from the last six overs, they went for the big hits, scoring 54 runs from the next three overs until Livingstone fell to Rabada.
England needed 14 from the last over, but Nortje (1-35) got Brook out on the first ball and allowed only six runs, restricting England to 156-6.
Speaking at a business event, she basically said her village roots made it harder.
Directly named SRK, calling him a Delhiite with a convent education.
Threw "brutal honesty" out there as her secret weapon.
You can already imagine the social media frenzy this kicked off.
It's the latest salvo in the whole insider-outsider war that never ends.
Well, she's done it again. Kangana Ranaut, now MP, just reframed the entire Bollywood struggle debate with one comparison. At a recent industry gathering in Delhi, she got to talking about her success. And then she brought up Shah Rukh Khan. Not with nostalgia. She positioned her own journey from a no-name Himachal village as the tougher path against his, what she termed, convent-educated Delhi background, and it obviously sparked reactions online.
Kangana says coming from a small village and being brutally honest shaped her journey in Bollywood Getty Images
So what did she actually say?
Her exact words: "Why did I get so much success?" she asked the room. Classic Kangana, starting with a question she's about to answer herself. "There is probably nobody else who came from a village and got such success in the mainstream. You talk about Shah Rukh Khan. They are from Delhi, convent-educated. I was from a village that nobody would have even heard of, Bhamla." And the punchline is that she believes it's her "brutal honesty" that did the trick.
Kangana calls brutal honesty her secret weapon in the film industryGetty Images
Let's talk about these two different worlds
Look at the facts. Kangana. Bhamla. Left at 15 for Mumbai, a kid with no roadmap. Her fight in the industry is well-documented, every step a battle she talks about. Four National Awards though, that's huge. Then Shah Rukh. Delhi. Lost his parents young, sure. But he cut his teeth on TV, became a name before he even hit films. His Mumbai move in '91 led to... well, to being King Khan. Both stories are about making it from nothing. But nothing means different things depending on your postcode, apparently.
Shah Rukh Khan’s Delhi upbringing gets compared to Kangana’s village struggleGetty Images
And the fallout?
It's a mess online, obviously. You have one side cheering her on for saying the quiet part out loud: that a village girl with no English has a steeper hill to climb than a guy from the capital. Then the other side is just exhausted. They're saying it's a cheap shot, that it diminishes Khan's own loss and grind. Does this debate even go anywhere? It just seems to recycle every few months. But people click. They always click.
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