Day 3: South Africa in hunt as defiant Elgar takes home team to 118/2 in pursuit of 240
Johannesburg, Jan 5: South African batters, led by their gutsy skipper Dean Elgar, dug their heels in to reach within 122 runs of a series-levelling victory against a determined India as the second Test seemed poised for a gripping fourth day finish here on Wednesday.
Elgar (46 batting off 121 balls) took some nasty blows off deliveries that spat off the cracks but kept his team on course at 118 for 2 in pursuit of a tricky 240-run target set by India in the wake of a solid century-plus partnership from the under-fire duo of Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane.
Shardul Thakur (1/21), who is in the middle of a great Test match, got his eighth victim of the game in an over during which the ball seamed, bounced and kept low from the same spot with the last one finding opener Aiden Markram's (31) pads.
Keegan Petersen (28) added 46 with his skipper before Ravichandran Ashwin (1/14) got one to drift and turn getting a leg before decision going his way.
However, like every new innings in this game where heavy roller has made batting easier by ironing out the divots on the good length spots, Elgar was ready to play the ugly game putting his body on the line, getting hit on knuckles, chest, shoulder and even on head prompting a quick on-field concussion test.
While South Africa will that they have half a foot through the victory door, there has been numerous instances in the series where a batting collapse has changed the course of the game.
There are two things that would keep India worried going into the fourth day.
In this Test, the batting conditions have improved as the match has progressed --- 202, 229, 266 -- and secondly, Mohammed Siraj is far from fit and bowled only four out of the 40 overs sent down till now.
The Indian team, in its mind, knows that it is a bowler short.
While 240 as a target is more than decent, India could have pushed it a bit more had Rishabh Pant's poor shot selection, that incurred legendary Sunil Gavaskar's wrath in the commentary box, not happened at the most inopportune of moments.
Having been hit by a Kagiso Rabada bouncer, Pant charged to another short ball like a raging bull only to be caught behind that prompted Gavaskar to question his sense of "responsibility" urging for the "nonsense" in garb of natural game" to stop.
But it was a day when India's middle order finally came good through combative half-centuries from Pujara and Rahane.
Pujara (53 off 86 balls) and Rahane (58 off 78 balls) gave fresh lease of life to their respective careers with timely knocks while Hanuma Vihari (40 not out) also played a crucial part in swelling India's overall lead as they finished their second innings at 266.
Kagiso Rabada (20-3-77-3) was inspirational in the final half-an-hour before lunch as he brought his team back with quick dismissals.
Marco Jansen (17-4-67-3) and Lungi Ngidi (10.1-1-43-3) also played their parts to perfection.
The Indian middle-order, which has flattered to deceive on most occasions in the past couple of years, did its job and also got some much needed late-order support from Shardul Thakur (28).
Pujara and Rahane, in a rarely seen counter-attacking mode, added 111 runs in just 23.2 overs, getting some breathing space for themselves.
Having understood that time is indeed running out for them, both the batters decided not to try and hang around as they looked for scoring opportunities.
The half volleys were driven imperiously and the width was dispatched disdainfully square off the wicket.
When Jansen bowled one short, Rahane uncorked the slash over point for a six. Pujara's 50 came off 62 balls while Rahane's half-century was completed in 67, signalling that they were trying to show 'intent' and put team's interest above everything else.
They hit 18 fours and a six between them.
There was a time when India were 155 for two with a lead of 128 and it seemed that South Africa's propensity to bowl too short or too full was proving to be damaging.
But then Rabada, South Africa's best exponent of fast bowling since Dale Steyn, produced an inspired show that is so synonymous with the traditional format.
Rabada found that ideal back of length and it landed on the crack to deviate sharply, taking Rahane's edge into keeper Kyle Verreynne's gloves.
Pujara then got one from Rabada in the off-stump channel to be plumb in front despite lunging far forward.
However, the man who disappointed one and all was Pant, who first got a snorter from Rabada that hit his helmet viser when he tried to defend awkwardly, and then he charged to convert a short ball into a half volley. The result was an edge to keeper.
It was Vihari and Shardul, who were involved in a 41-run stand for the seventh wicket and then had two little but enormously important stands of 17 and 21 respectively with tailenders Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj to set up a good chase for the Proteas.
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US warns shipping firms they could face sanctions over paying Iranian tolls in Strait of Hormuz
Dubai (AP): The United States is warning shipping companies that they could face sanctions for making payments to Iran to safely pass through the Strait of Hormuz.
The alert posted Friday by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control adds another layer of pressure in the standoff between the US and Iran over control of the Strait of Hormuz.
About a fifth of the world's trade in oil and natural gas typically passes through the strait at the mouth of the Persian Gulf in peacetime.
Iran effectively closed the strait to normal traffic by attacking and threatening to attack ships after the US and Israel launched a war on Feb. 28. It later began offering some ships safe passage by detouring them through alternate routes closer to its shoreline, charging fees at times for the service.
That "tollbooth” effort is the focus of the US sanctions warning.
The payment demands could include transfers not only in cash but also “digital assets, offsets, informal swaps, or other in-kind payments,” including chartibale donations and payments at Iranian embassies, OFAC said.
“OFAC is issuing this alert to warn US and non-US persons about the sanctions risks of making these payments to, or soliciting guarantees from, the Iranian regime for safe passage. These risks exist regardless of payment method,” it said.
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The US responded to Iran's closure of the strait with a naval blockade of its own on April 13, preventing any Iranian tankers from leaving and depriving Iran of oil revenue it needs to shore up its ailing economy.
The US Central Command said 45 commercial ships have been told to turn around since the blockade began.
Trump rejects Iranian proposal
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The warning came as US President Donald Trump swiftly rejected Iran's latest proposal to end the war between the countries.
“They want to make a deal, I'm not satisfied with it, so we'll see what happens,” Trump said Friday at the White House. He didn't elaborate on what he saw as its shortcomings but expressed frustration with the Iranian leadership.
“It's a very disjointed leadership,” Trump said. “They all want to make a deal, but they're all messed up.”
Iran's state-run IRNA news agency reported Iran handed over its plan to mediators in Pakistan on Thursday night.
The shaky three-week ceasefire between the US and Iran appears to be holding, though both countries have traded accusations of violations. The standoff is increasingly putting pressure on the global economy, driving up prices and leading to shortages of fuel and other products tied to the oil industry.
Negotiations continued by phone after Trump called off his envoys' trip to Pakistan last week, the president said. Trump this week floated a new plan to reopen the critical passageway used by America's Gulf allies to export their oil and gas.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has briefed many of his regional counterparts on the country's initiatives to end the ear, according to his social media. He also held talks Friday with European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, who is in contact with the EU's Gulf partners.
China's UN envoy urges Iran to lift restrictions
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Fu Cong, the Chinese ambassdor to the United Nations, said Friday that maintaining the ceasefire is “the most urgent issue" as well as bringing together the sides to resume good faith negotiations “to make sure that the ground is laid for reopening of Hormuz.”
Foreign Minister Wang Yi “has been on the phone almost constantly” with representatives from all sides, Fu said, adding that China supports Pakistan's efforts to mediate between the parties.
Fu stressed the root cause of the tremendous suffering in Iran and neighboring countries and the growing turmoil in the global economy, especially in developing countries, “is the illegitimate war by the US and Israel.
