Australia reduce India to 84 for seven on rank turner
Indore (PTI): India's aggressive approach on a track offering vicious turn backfired as Australia reduced the hosts to 84 for seven after a rather eventful opening session of the third Test here on Wednesday.
Like the last two Tests, the pitch was expected to offer plenty of turn but the ball turning square in the first hour of play and the odd one keeping low came as a slight surprise.
Matthew Hayden on air called the the black soil surface at the Holkar Stadium a day-three pitch and it sure behaved like one.
Three batters including skipper Rohit Sharma (12), Ravindra Jadeja (4) and Shreyas Iyer (0) perished while trying to attack.
Virat Kohli (22 off 52) looked assured in the middle before being trapped lbw by Todd Murphy towards the end of the session.
Left-arm spinner Matthew Kuhnemann and veteran off-spinner Nathan Lyon took took three wickets each.
Winning the toss for the first time in the series, India expectedly decided to bat first. Shubman Gill replaced an out-of-form K L Rahul in the playing eleven while Umesh Yadav was brought in for the rested Mohammad Shami.
Rahul has been struggling for runs and finally Gill, who is in terrific form of late, got a chance.
Having regained match fitness, both Mitchell Starc and Cameron Green made Australia's playing eleven.
Starc's first over to Rohit was among the highlights of the session. Before the spinners ran through the Indian batting, Starc got the ball to swing giving the India skipper a tough time.
Rohit got a faint outside edge on the very first ball he faced but Australia did not take a review. Three balls later, Starc got the ball to swing back in and it flicked Rohit's pads. Ball tracking showed the ball would have hit the off stump but Australia decided against taking DRS again.
Gill faced Green from the other end and began his innings with an elegant cover drive.
Spin was introduced in the sixth over and Kuhnemman got the ball to turn sharply. In the last ball of the over, Rohit stepped out to play across the line and got beaten in the flight and Alex Carey made a clean stumping.
Kuhnemann had Gill caught at first slip with the opener getting a thick outside edge while offering a forward defence.
Cheteshwar Pujara's stay lasted only four balls as Lyon got one to turn massively from wide off stump that crashed into the middle stump. The ball kept a tad low as well and Pujara was found wanting on the back foot.
Jadeja's fall made it 44 four.
After surviving a close DRS call, the southpaw went for the attack against Lyon and was caught at short extra cover.
Kuhnemann got this third wicket of the morning when Iyer played an attempted cut on to his stumps and within first hour of play, India had lost half their side.
Kohli and K S Bharat shared 26 runs for the sixth wicket and looked confident in the middle. However both departed towards the end of the session to end a rather forgettable sessions for the hosts.
Kohli was adjudged leg before off Murphy while trying to flick one that pitched on the off-stump and turned to hit the middle.
Bharat, who slog swept Murphy for a six, was out lbw to Lyon while offering a long defensive stride.
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Cong leader held for sharing AI image depicting Kerala CM with Sabarimala gold case accused
Kozhikode (Kerala) (PTI): A Congress leader was arrested on Saturday for allegedly sharing an AI-generated photograph depicting Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan along with Unnikrishnan Potty, an accused in the Sabarimala gold case, police said.
The Chevayoor police took N Subarahmanian, a member of the state unit of Congress's Political Affairs Committee, into custody after registering a case against him. Later, his arrest was recorded after the interrogation and he was released on station bail, police said.
He was booked for sharing a post on a social media platform carrying a photograph depicting the Chief Minister and Potty together, with a caption questioning the reason for their alleged close relationship.
As part of the probe, a police team reached Subarahmanian’s house on Saturday morning to record his statement. Later, it was decided to take him to the police station for detailed interrogation, officials said.
The CPI(M) has claimed that the picture circulating on social media is AI-generated.
Before being taken to the police station, Subarahmanian told reporters that the picture he shared was not AI-generated, but was taken from a video released by the Chief Minister’s Office.
“What the police say are the words of the government. They are branding everything as AI-generated,” he alleged.
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He further claimed that one of the photographs he posted was also seen on the social media account of BJP state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar on November 29, but no case was registered against him.
“I will try to prove the authenticity of the photograph. Anyway, the case will reach the court,” he said.
Subarahmanian alleged that the government’s policy was to take action against people criticising the CM by sending them to jail. “People will not shut their mouths with such actions,” he said.
He also said that in his social media post, he had mentioned that the photograph was taken from Facebook. “Let’s wait and see,” he added.
The Police said a case has been registered under Section 192 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause a riot and Section 120(o) of the Kerala Police Act for causing annoyance through communication.
Congress activists led by Kozhikode DCC president K Praveenkumar held a protest in front of the police station, terming the police action as illegal and unreasonable, as only bailable sections were invoked against Subarahmanian.
He alleged that police surrounded Subarahmanian’s house as if action was being taken against a hardcore criminal.
“Subarahmanian was in Kozhikode, and the police could have served a notice instead of creating drama by surrounding his house. The police will face the consequences of their actions,” he said.
KPCC president Sunny Joseph said the Chief Minister’s Office was trampling upon democracy and freedom of expression by registering a case alleging incitement to riot against N Subarahmanian for sharing the picture.
“Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan is now leading Kerala along the same path shown by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP government. These actions will not weaken or destroy democratic and secular Kerala, nor will they succeed in silencing the state,” he said.
Leader of the Opposition in the Kerala Assembly V D Satheesan, said fake campaigns using AI tools were mostly carried out by the CPI(M).
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“Mr Pinarayi Vijayan, who are you trying to scare? Are you trying to scare us? This is the end phase of your governance,” he said.
He alleged that a CPI(M) leader who was sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment for hurling explosives at police personnel was granted parole by the government just a month after being jailed in Kannur.
“You are in charge of the police and the Home department. Your DIG is accepting bribes and releasing prisoners on bail,” he alleged. Satheesan said the Chief Minister should not attempt to intimidate Congress workers, as they would not budge under such tactics.
“If you act in an autocratic manner, we are not afraid of you. You will have to arrest all of us. Such a chief minister is a shame for Kerala,” he said.
He said the CPI(M) had failed to learn from the public warning delivered through the local body elections.
“There is a bigger lesson waiting for you in the Assembly elections,” he said.
