1st ODI: Handscomb, Stoinis lift Australia to competitive 288 for 5
Sydney, Jan 12: Peter Handscomb switched gears in time to score a fighting 73 as a collective batting effort from the middle-order steered Australia to a competitive 288 for five against India in the first One-day International, here Saturday.
Usman Khawaja (59) and Shaun Marsh (54) scored half-centuries for Australia who lost skipper Aaron Finch (6) in a slow start after electing to bat.
A late charge from Handscomb and Stoinis meant that the hosts scored 93 runs in the last 10 overs, 59 of them coming in the last five.
They added 68 runs off 59 balls for in their fifth-wicket partnership as Handscomb delighted the home fans with eight boundaries including two sixes while Stoinis hit two fours and as many shots over the ropes.
Spinners Kuldeep Yadav (2/54) and Ravindra Jadeja (1/48) shared three wickets between them while pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar (2/66) accounted for two batsmen.
Sloppy fielding from India towards the end also helped Australia as Ambati Rayudu dropped Handscomb (on 67 off Kumar).
Kumar bowled Finch (6) in the third over, an inswinger slipping in through the gate.
Alex Carey (24) made a good start and was looking set for a longer innings, when Yadav outfoxed him in his very first over, caught at slip off a quicker top-spinner. Australia only managed 41-2 in the first 10 overs.
It brought Khawaja and Marsh together, and they put on 92 runs off 111 balls for the third wicket. In doing so, they pushed India to make changes in the middle overs. It didn't help that Shami went off the field for a little while with a neck related issue.
During that time, India experimented with Ambati Rayudu (0/13) but he failed to provide any control over proceedings. It didn't help that Khaleel Ahmed (0/55) was having an off day, struggling with this front-foot and general control over line and length.
Khawaja-Marsh pair added 50 in 61 balls as Australia crossed 100 in the 23rd over. Khawaja brought up his fifth ODI half-century off 70 balls, and opened up a bit more to play some attractive sweeps.
But he perished in that manner as Jadeja trapped him lbw in the 29th over, providing a crucial breakthrough for India. Marsh carried on though, and reached his 13th ODI half-century off 65 balls, thus putting up 53 runs off 55 balls with Handscomb for the fourth wicket.
Their 50-run stand came off only 49 balls as Australia started to show a little more urgency. Shami though had returned to the field and along with Jadeja, exerted control over the proceedings and the run-rate never crossed the 5/over mark during that passage of play.
Australia finally managed to cross 200 in the 42nd over, but had lost Marsh in the process as he holed out off Yadav in the 38th over.
Stoinis' arrival at the crease had helped press matters as both he and Handscomb opened up with a couple sixes and upped the run-rate.
Handscomb reached his second ODI half-century off 50 balls, helping push Australia past 250 in the 48th over.
Latest Updates: India: 95-3 (24)
Rohit Sharma- 50(63)*
MS Dhoni (wk)- 36(71)*
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Jharkhand horror: Man kills live-in partner, chops body into 40 pieces
Ranchi (PTI): A 25-year-old man, who works as a butcher, allegedly strangled to death his live-in partner and chopped her body into 40 to 50 pieces in a forested area in Jharkhand’s Khunti district, police said on Wednesday.
The accused, identified as Naresh Bhengra, was arrested.
The matter came to light after around a fortnight after the killing when a stray dog was found with human body parts near Jordag village in Jariagarh police station on November 24.
Bhengra was in a live-in relationship with the deceased, a 24-year-old woman also from Khunti district, in Tamil Nadu for the past couple of years. Sometime back, he returned to Jharkhand, got married to another woman without telling his partner anything and went back to the southern state without his wife to join her.
"The brutal incident occurred on November 8 when they reached Khunti as the accused who had married another woman did not wish to take her home. Instead, he took her to a forest near his house at Jordag village in Jariagarh police station and chopped the body into pieces. The man has been arrested," Khunti Superintendent of Police Aman Kumar told PTI.
Inspector Ashok Singh who investigated the case said the man worked in a butcher shop in Tamil Nadu and was expert in slicing chicken.
“He admitted chopping the body parts of the woman into 40 to 50 pieces before leaving those in the forest for wild animals to feast on. The police recovered several parts on November 24 after a dog in the area was seen with a hand," Singh told PTI.
Singh said that the woman, who was unaware of his marriage, pressured him to return to Khunti. After reaching Ranchi, they boarded a train on November 24 and headed to the man's village.
"Under a plan, the man took her to Khunti in an autorickshaw near his home and asked her to wait. He returned with sharp weapons and strangulated her with her dupatta after raping her. He then cut the body into 40 to 50 pieces and left for his home to live with his wife," Singh said.
The woman, however, had informed her mother that she had boarded a train and would be living with her partner, the police officer said.
Following the recovery of body parts, a bag was also found in the forest with the murdered woman's belongings including her Aadhaar card. The mother of the woman was called at the spot and she identified her daughter's belongings.
"The mother suspected the man behind the crime who after being nabbed by the police admitted to chopping the woman into pieces," the official added.
The incident has sent shockwaves among people in the region, with the Shraddha Walker murder case of 2022 still fresh in their memory.
Walker was killed by her live-in partner who chopped her body into pieces before dumping them in the jungle in South Delhi’s Mehrauli.
