Confident India aim to level series in 4th Test
Southampton, Aug 29: After a morale-boosting win at Nottingham, India will be aiming to level the five-match rubber when they take on England in the fourth cricket Test starting at the Rose Bowl Ground here from Thursday.
After a narrow 31-run loss in the first Test at Edgbaston, the visitors suffered an innings defeat at Lord's and were on the verge of losing the series. However, the Virat Kohli-led Indian team bounced back in the third Test to register an emphatic 203-run victory, keeping the series alive.
Kohli's side still trail 1-2 in the series and will be eyeing to replicate their previous show to level the series before going to the decider.
On Thursday, the Indian skipper is most likely expected to stick with the winning combination.
Kohli currently leads the run charts with 440 runs, which includes two centuries and as many half-centuries and once again, the Indian batting will more or less depend on the 29-year-old.
Vice captain Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara scored 81 and 72 runs respectively in the third Test and both will need to repeat their performance here.
With Murali Vijay axed from the remainder of the series, Shikhar Dhawan and Lokesh Rahul would once again open India's batting, while Hardik Pandya is likely to be retained in the playing XI after his all-round show in the third Test.
Hardik had bagged six wickets conceding 50 runs at Nottingham beside playing an unbeaten 52-run knock in the second innings.
In the bowling department, the visitors would in all likelihood opt for three pacers, keeping in mind the green-top laid out for the fourth Test.
The trio of Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma and Mohammed Shami returned a handful from the third Test, with Bumrah's fifer ripping through the English batting order in the second essay.
Ravichandran Ashwin is expected to recover from his injury and will shoulder the responsibility as the lone spinner in the side, and in case of a forced change, left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja is already warming the bench for the first three Tests.
On the other hand, England will hope their misfiring opening combination of Alastair Cook and Keaton Jennings to give them a decent start.
England's batting so far, has revolved around the likes of skipper Joe Root, Jos Buttler and injured stumper Jonny Bairstow, who is expected to play as a specialist batsman in the fourth Test.
Batsman James Vince was called up to the England squad as cover for Bairstow, but there are growing calls for his inclusion into the playing eleven nevertheless.
The bowling unit will once again be on expected lines with the star pair of James Anderson and Stuart Broad leading the attack that comprises all-rounders Ben Stokes and Chris Woakes.
It will be interesting to see whether England will persist with leg-spinner Adil Rashid or bring in an additional batsman and part-time spinner in Moeen Ali to bolster their batting.
Squads:
India: Virat Kohli (Captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Lokesh Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Dinesh Karthik, Rishabh Pant (WK), Karun Nair, Hardik Pandya, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Hanuma Vihari, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah.
England: Joe Root (Captain), Alastair Cook, Keaton Jennings, Jonny Bairstow (WK), Jos Buttler (WK), Oliver Pope, Moeen Ali, Adil Rashid, Sam Curran, James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Chris Woakes, Ben Stokes, James Vince.
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BCI urges CJI to take action against Andhra HC judge for sending young lawyer to 24-hour custody
New Delhi (PTI): The Bar Council of India on Wednesday sought the urgent intervention of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant following a "deeply disturbing" incident where a judge of the Andhra Pradesh High Court reportedly sent a young advocate to
24-hour judicial custody over a procedural lapse.
The Bar Council of India (BCI) Chairperson and senior advocate Manan Kumar Mishra, in a formal representation, termed the conduct of Justice Tarlada Rajasekhar Rao "grossly inappropriate" and "damaging to the confidence of the Bar".
“I most respectfully request your Lordship to kindly take immediate institutional cognizance of the matter and call for the video recording of the proceedings, the order passed, and the surrounding circumstances.
“I further request that appropriate administrative action may kindly be considered, including withdrawal of judicial work from the learned Judge pending review, his immediate transfer to some far off High Court, and his nomination for appropriate judicial training/orientation on court management, judicial temperament, Bar-Bench relations, and proportional exercise of contempt/judicial authority,” Mishra wrote.
This representation is made to preserve the “dignity, moral authority and public confidence of the judiciary”, he said, adding, “Judges command the highest respect not by fear, but by fairness, patience, restraint and constitutional humility”.
The communication urged the CJI to intervene at the earliest to ensure that the faith of Bar, particularly young advocates, in the protective and corrective role of the judiciary is restored.
The controversy stems from proceedings on May 5.
According to the BCI, a video circulating online shows Justice Rao rebuking a young advocate who was unable to produce a specific order copy during a hearing.
The letter said that despite the advocate "repeatedly seeking pardon and mercy" and claiming he was in physical pain, the judge remained "unmoved".
The judge allegedly told the lawyer, "now you will learn," and mocked his experience before directing the Registrar and police personnel to take him into custody for 24 hours.
The BCI chairperson said that the judge’s actions lacked proportionality and fairness.
"The dignity of the court is not enhanced when a lawyer is made to beg for grace in open court and is still sent to custody for a procedural lapse," the letter said.
"A young lawyer... is an officer of the Court, still learning, still growing, and entitled to correction without humiliation," it added.
The bar body said that such actions create a "chilling effect" on the legal fraternity, particularly among junior members, and undermine the mutual respect required between the Bench and the Bar.
