1st Test: Shami, Jadeja put India on cusp of big win
Visakhapatnam, Oct 6: Mohammad Shami and Ravindra Jadeja ran through the South African batting in the morning session to put India on the cusp of a big win on day five of the first Test here on Sunday.
Chasing an improbable 395-run target, South Africa were expected to put up a fight like they did in the first innings but Shami's three-wicket burst and Jadeja's probing spell has made it all but certain that India will reach finishing line much faster than what was expected before start of play.
South Africa, resuming the day at 11 for one in nine overs, were 117 for 8 at lunch with Senuran Muthusamy (19 not out off 47) and Dane Piedt (32 not out off 56) delaying the inevitable.
The morning session was extended by 15 minutes for India to complete the formalities but Piedt and Muthusamy frustrated them.
The pitch, which had played fairly for the first four days with the odd ball surprising the batsman, turned tricky on day five. The spinners got the ball to turn sharply and the variable bounce also helped the pacers, as predicted by Cheteshwar Pujara on Saturday.
The collapse began in the second over of the day when Ravichandran Ashwin castled Theunis de Bruyn (10) with one that turned back sharply from wide outside of the off-stump for his record equalling 350th wicket.
With that dismissal, the 33-year-old became the joint fastest to 350 wickets, matching Sri Lanka legend Muttiah Muralitharan's feat in his 66th Test.
After Ashwin provided the early breakthrough, Shami castled Temba Bavuma (0), Faf du Plessis (13) and first innings centurion Quinton de Kock (0) in two short bursts to break the backbone of South African batting.
Bavuma stayed back to ball that jagged back in at low bounce while du Plessis offered a leave to another one which seamed back in, only to see his stumps rattled.
Shami got rid of de Kock with an inswinger, leaving the visitors reeling at 60 for five. It became 70 for six when innings top-scorer and opener Aiden Markram did not get the required elevation and hit it back to Ravindra Jadeja, who took a brilliant one-handed reflex catch.
Jadeja was all over with South African tail, trapping Vernon Philander and Keshav Maharaj in front of the stumps off successive balls to make it 70 for eight in the 27th over.
Piedt and Senuran delayed the inevitable by going for their strokes. Piedt's slog sweep over deep mid-wicket went the distance for the 37th six of the game, breaking the record for most number of maximums in a Test match.
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Air India flights to North America, Europe to use alternative routes
New Delhi (PTI): Air India will operate its flights to North America and Europe using alternative routes over available airspaces in the Middle East and cancel six flights to various European cities on March 2.
The airline, which cancelled 50 international flights on Sunday, said it would extend suspension of all flights to and from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Israel and Qatar till 23:59 hours (IST) on March 2.
In a post on X on Sunday, the carrier said six flights, including Amritsar-Birmingham (AI117) and Birmingham-Delhi (AI114), would be cancelled on Monday.
Besides, AI151 and A152 flights between Delhi and Zurich, as well as AI157 and AI158 flights between Delhi and Copenhagen, would be cancelled on Monday.
“All other flights to North America and Europe will operate as per schedule using alternative routings over available airspaces in the Middle East, which is expected to add to the flying times.
"Additionally, flights to New York (JFK) and Newark (Liberty International) will operate with technical stops at Rome (Fiumicino Airport)," Air India said.
With stops in Rome, the flying time for Air India flights to North America would increase and also result in increased operating expenses.
Since the Iran and Iraq airspaces remain closed, officials said the airline would take the Egypt route to reach Europe, which would mean 30-40 minutes of additional flying time.
The flights would take the route through Oman, the southern part of Saudi Arabia and Egypt for European and North American destinations, the officials added.
The airline also said that it continues to closely monitor the situation and has carefully assessed the evolving circumstances across multiple parameters, including safety, security, airspace availability, and operational feasibility, before deciding on these operations for March 2.
In the wake of the escalating Middle East crisis, flight operations have been significantly disrupted, with the civil aviation ministry saying Indian carriers cancelled 350 international flights on Sunday.
