Axar Patel makes early inroads as England struggle to 74/3 at lunch
Ahmedabad: A scarred England were once again done in by Axar Patel's straight deliveries before partially recovering to reach 74 for 3 at lunch during an intriguing opening session of the fourth and final Test against India here on Thursday.
Brought into action as early as in sixth over, the left-arm orthodox spinner bowled an arm ball which had Dom Sibley (2) leaving a huge gap between bat and pad, trying to play for the spin. The result was an inside edge onto the stumps.
Zak Crawley (8) felt that the easiest way to survive was to attack Patel (9-3-21-2). He got a boundary but then jumped out and lofted the spinner without getting to the pitch of the delivery.
The result was a simple catch to Mohammed Siraj stationed at mid-off, who didn't even have to move an inch from his position.
Joe Root (5), who went off the boil post his double hundred in the first game, got a peach of an inswinger from Siraj (6-0-23-1), which had him caught plumb in-front, leaving his team at 30 for 3 inside the first hour.
Jonny Bairstow (28 batting, 64 balls) after a terrible pink ball Test, looked more assured as he struck six boundaries.
He punished the fast bowlers whenever they offered width and also negotiated Patel's straight deliveries with his bat close to the pads and assured front-foot movement.
Ravichandran Ashwin (3-2-7-0) was introduced into the attack in the 20th over as Virat Kohli kept up the pressure by having Patel continue at one end and rotate his two pacers at the other end.
Ben Stokes (24 batting, 40 balls) showed patience leaving any deliveries outside the off-stump but lofted Ashwin for a six in his very first over.
However, Ashwin got extra bounce and troubled Stokes with a couple of lovely deliveries. The Stokes-Bairstow partnership yielded 44 runs for the unbroken fourth wicket and looked to stem the rot set in by Patel.
The first day Motera pitch didn't have any extraordinary turn on offer for the bowlers and can be safely called good for batsmen if they applied themselves.
After the fall of three wickets, Stokes and Bairstow both showed that they had at least tried to make technical adjustments and were ready to grind it out which is exactly what was needed.
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Snowfall blocks two key roads providing alternative connectivity to Kashmir
Rajouri/Jammu (PTI): Traffic on the Mughal and Sinthan Top roads, which provide alternate connectivity to Kashmir, was temporarily suspended on Sunday due to light to moderate snowfall in the high-altitude areas of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said.
However, traffic on the 270-kilometre Jammu-Srinagar national highway -- the only all weather road linking Kashmir with the rest of the country -- was plying as usual despite intermittent rains that ended the over one-and-a-half months long dry spell, they said.
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The Mughal road, which connects the twin border districts of Poonch and Rajouri with south Kashmir's Shopian, was closed for traffic as a precautionary measure after more than three inches of snow was recorded at Peer Ki Gali on Sunday afternoon.
A group of three tea vendors are left stranded on the road and efforts are on to evacuate them to safety, officials said.
After they were trapped in the snow, the vendors made passionate appeals through video messages urging the authorities to rescue them. The Border Roads Organisation has taken up snow clearance work and is trying to reach the stranded persons, officials said.
The Sinthan Top road, which connects Kishtwar and Doda districts in Jammu with south Kashmir's Anantnag, was also closed after moderate snowfall in the higher reaches.
Both the mountainous roads usually remain closed for several months due to heavy snowfall during winter.
