London, Aug 11: India reduced England to 89 for four wickets at lunch on the third day of their second Test at the Lord's here on Saturday.

Alastair Cook (21), Keaton Jennings (11), debutant Ollie Pope (28) and Joe Root (19) were the batsmen to have been dismissed, with England 18 runs behind India's first innings total.

Jonny Bairstow (four not out) was at the crease at the time lunch was taken

Seamer Mohammed Shami picked up two wickets, while pacer Ishant Sharma and Hardik Pandya took a wicket each.

Beginning the day, Cook and Jennings made a positive start, showing a lot of intent. But a full-pitched delivery missed Jennings' bat and hit his pads, resulting in a LBW decision, with the hosts at 28.

Cook fell soon, as an away-moving delivery from Ishant found an edge and the ball landed in the hands of wicket-keeper Dinesh Karthik.

As soon as 20-year-old Pope joined Root in the middle, India captain Virat Kohli decided to bring in chinaman spinner Kuldeep Yadav to operate from one end. Pope showed a lot of promise, dealing confidently with Ishant, Shami and Kuldeep.

The partnership between Pope and Root had reached 45 runs when a delivery from Pandya dismissed the former. Pope missed the line and was plumb in front of the wicket, with England at 77/3.

The hosts ran further into trouble when Shami was favoured in a LBW appeal against Root to close the session.

Brief scores: England: 89/4 (Ollie Pope 28, Alastair Cook 21; Mohammed Shami 2/37) vs India at lunch on Day 3.

Latest Updates: ENG 131/5 (31.1 Ovs)  CRR: 4.2

 

 

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Chennai (PTI): Before giving birth, she had already delivered a mandate—a symbol of hope for Thiru Vi Ka Nagar.

Echoing Delhi’s 2013 “common citizen” political churn associated with the rise of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), an eight-month-pregnant homemaker, M R Pallavi, has been elected as an MLA from Chennai’s Thiru Vi Ka Nagar constituency, emerging as one of the notable first-time faces of the Vijay-led TVK in the recently held Tamil Nadu Assembly elections.

In the narrow lanes of Thiru Vi Ka Nagar, a steady stream of media personnel has been making their way to Pallavi’s residence—a scene reminiscent of the result day in Delhi when journalists thronged the modest home of Rakhi Birla, who had won from Mangolpuri on an AAP ticket.

Pallavi, 36, a homemaker educated up to class XII, defeated the DMK candidate K S Ravichandran by a margin of 22,333 votes in the reserved Thiru Vi Ka Nagar Assembly constituency.

Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam emerged as the single largest party by winning 108 seats, while DMK and AIADMK got 59 and 47, respectively.

Pallavi’s victory has drawn attention due to her personal circumstances. She campaigned extensively while eight months pregnant, going door-to-door to reach voters.

According to local accounts, she even fainted once during the campaign but continued her outreach.

She has not spoken to the media following her victory, as doctors have advised her to rest. Her husband, Rajesh, briefly recounted her campaign efforts.

A self-professed admirer of actor-turned-politician Vijay, Pallavi joined TVK soon after its formation and is now among its first-time legislators.

Doctors have advised her to be hospitalised around May 20, as she is expecting her second child. Ahead of that, voters in Thiru Vi Ka Nagar have entrusted her with representing them in the state Assembly.

Political observers say the rise of candidates like Pallavi signals a possible shift in Tamil Nadu’s political landscape, with voters backing a new party and candidates from non-traditional backgrounds.