England openers' delaying tactics at Lord's not within spirit of the game: Shubman Gill
Manchester, Jul 22 (PTI): India captain Shubman Gill on Tuesday slammed the delaying tactic used by the England openers towards end of day three of the Lord's Test, saying coming 90 seconds late to the crease was not within the spirt of the game.
Speaking ahead of the fourth Test in Manchester, Gill ended the customary pre-match media interaction on an explosive note when asked about the on-field tensions during the third game.
The question has been a constant from the English press to both the Indian and the home team players following the aggression shown by both parties at Lord's.
"Yes, a lot of people have been talking about it, so let me just clear the air, for once and for all, the English batsmen on that day, they had seven minutes of play left, they were 90 seconds late to come to the crease, not 10, not 20, 90 seconds late," said a combative Gill.
"Yes, most of the teams they use this (delaying tactic), even if we were in a position, we would have also liked to play lesser overs, but there is a manner to do it, and we felt, yes if you get hit on your body, the physios are allowed to come on, and that is something that is fair.
"But to be able to come 90 seconds late on the crease, is not something that I would think, comes in the way of spirit of the game," he added.
Bumrah had bowled the last over on day three and sarcastically clapped at Crawley for delaying the game right before stumps. Words were also exchanged between Indian players and Duckett at the other end.
In his first series as Test captain, Gill too was fired up and asked Crawley to show some guts.
"Just leading up to that event, a lot of things that, we thought should not have happened, it had happened, and it's not, I wouldn't say it was something that I am very proud of, but there was a lead-up and build-up to that, it didn't just come out of nowhere, and we had no intention of doing that whatsoever," Gill went on.
"But it is just, you are playing a game, you are playing to win, and there are a lot of emotions involved, and when you see there are things happening, that should not happen, sometimes the emotions come out of nowhere," added Gill.
Minutes before Gill's pre-match press conference, England captain Ben Stokes had said that his team won't hold back if they get verbal volleys from the Indian team.
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No unannounced load shedding in Kerala, outages due to overload, says Minister
Palakkad (PTI): Kerala Electricity Minister K Krishnankutty on Saturday said there was no unannounced load shedding in the state, attributing recent power interruptions to temporary overload caused by high consumption.
Clarifying concerns raised from various parts of the state, the minister said the disruptions are not deliberate but occur when demand peaks, particularly between 10 pm and 11 pm.
"It is not being done intentionally. Power consumption has risen sharply, and when there is excessive and indiscriminate usage, the system experiences overload, leading to natural supply interruptions," he told reporters here.
His remarks come amid complaints that several areas have been witnessing frequent power cuts, often lasting around 15 minutes and occurring multiple times during the night.
Krishnankutty said the state's power demand has crossed 6,195 MW, putting pressure on the supply system. He added that around 70 per cent of Kerala's electricity is procured from outside, and existing power banking arrangements have been exhausted.
"We have approached the Regulatory Commission seeking permission to purchase more power. However, this will come at a higher cost," he said.
The minister said the government is trying to avoid increasing electricity tariffs and urged consumers to exercise restraint in usage to help manage the situation.
Responding to opposition criticism over the ruling LDF's earlier claims of a decade without power cuts, he said the current situation is not unique to Kerala.
A power crisis is emerging across the country, he said, and sarcastically asked the Opposition to take note of the role of natural factors in this.
Krishnankutty expressed confidence that the situation would improve within two days, while cautioning that long-term energy security would depend on enhancing in-state power generation.
He also warned that future generations could face serious challenges if adequate electricity production capacity is not developed within Kerala.
