Sir — It is a matter of shame that the problems of Indian farmers are increasing day by day. Once again, thousands of farmers started a protest against the Maharashtra government for not keeping its promises. The government should feel ashamed of itself; in the past, farmers have protested while being barefoot and going hungry.

The state dispensation should fulfil their demands: it must solve the water paucity problem and generate the employment it promised as soon as possible. The plight of farmers and other citizens will only worsen if this is not done.

It is time for the government to pay heed.

Najmul Huda,

Mumbai

Show stopper

Sir — The 20-year-old batsman from Afghanistan, Hazratullah Zazai, must be congratulated for his stupendous feat in the second Twenty20 match against Ireland. Zazai smashed 16 sixes, creating a world record for the highest number of sixes made by a batsman in a T20 international match. The previous record was set by Australia’s Aaron Finch, who slammed 14 sixes in a T20 match against England in 2013.

Zazai scored an unbeaten 162 off 62 balls, and his century came off only 42 balls. Afghanistan also set a T20 record as a team — they made 278 runs for the fall of three wickets, hammering Ireland by 84 runs. The Afghan innings exceeded the previous record of 263-3 set by Australia against Sri Lanka in 2016. Zazai also helped the Afghans produce an overall T20 record stand of 236. The best international stand before this was of 223 runs, achieved by Finch and D’Arcy Short in Australia’s match against Zimbabwe last year.

Motiur Rahman,

Magadi, Karnataka

Sir — It was thrilling to watch Afghanistan rack up the world’s highest record in T20 cricket — 278 runs. This was possible because of Hazratullah Zazai, who made 162 runs in only 62 balls, which included 16 sixes and 11 boundaries. The 236-run opening partnership between Zazai and Usman Ghani will also go down in history.

Ahmar Sikandar,

Bangalore

Sir — While Sri Lanka became the first Asian team to win a Test series against South Africa in the latter’s own backyard, Afghanistan broke many T20 international records during their match against Ireland at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Dehradun. They amassed the highest total in T20 internationals, put together the highest partnership for any wicket, thanks to Usman Ghani and Hazratullah Zazai, and can also boast of the most sixes made by a team in T20s. This match also has the distinction of the third-highest match aggregate in a T20 international — 472 runs, of which 278 were made by Afghanistan.

Both Afghanistan and Sri Lanka should be praised for their achievements. However, Afghanistan should pay attention to one-day internationals more than T20s now, so that they can perform better in the World Cup.

M.Z. Qasmi,

Bangalore

Massive failure

Sir — The leaking of several question papers of the Madhyamik examinations — held under the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education — on social media over successive days has set a record this year. It is a matter of great concern, and challenges the entire process of management under the education board. This year, the board introduced a novel system of unpacking the question papers in the presence of examinees in the exam hall just before the tests commence. Invigilators have been prohibited from carrying mobile phones into the exam hall. In spite of these steps, mischief-makers seem to have prevailed. What were the cyber crime security personnel doing after the first leak appeared online? Why did the revelation of question papers continue over so many days?

The explanation offered by the board president is unconvincing. The entire fiasco points to the apathy of education officials towards those who resort to such unfair means. Unless the board takes stringent steps to ensure the safety and confidentiality of question papers, the people’s faith in the education system will not be restored.

Ratan Kumar Halder,

Calcutta