Bengaluru, Oct 18: Sarfaraz Khan and Virat Kohli led India's fight back with combative half-centuries after skipper Rohit Sharma set the platform with his 52-run knock as the hosts ended day three of the opening Test against New Zealand at 231 for three here Friday.

Resuming the day on 180 for three, New Zealand posted 402 on the board for a massive 356-run first-innings lead with Rachin Ravindra (134) conjuring up a majestic century.

India, who were bowled out for a mere 46 in the first essay, made a confident start to their second innings with skipper Rohit and Yashasvi Jaiswal (35) producing a 72-run stand for the opening wicket.

Left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel dismissed both the openers before Kohli and Sarfaraz added 136 runs for the third wicket.

Kohli was dismissed at the fag end of the day and stumps were called right after his dismissal.

India trailed by 125 runs.

Brief Scores:

India: 46 all out and 231 for 3 in 49 overs (Sarfaraz Khan 70 batting, Virat Kohli 70, Rohit Sharma 52; Ajaz Patel 2/70).

New Zealand 1st innings: 402 in 91.3 overs (Devon Conway 91, Rachin Ravindra 134, Tim Southee 65; Mohammed Siraj 2/84, Kuldeep Yadav 3/99, Ravindra Jadeja 3/72).

Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.



New Delhi/Amaravati (PTI): Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Friday said the state is taking steps to transform itself into a knowledge and creator economy hub with a strong focus on artificial intelligence and quantum technology. 

He noted that Andhra Pradesh has abundant tech-driven youth and the government is formulating plans to train them in futuristic technologies with support from global technology firms. 

"Our goal is to transform Andhra Pradesh into a knowledge hub by focusing on AI, quantum computing, data centres, drone cities and space cities. The youth will remain our biggest asset over the next 25 years, and we seek global partnerships to scale up the creator economy," said Naidu during his interactions at the India AI Impact Summit 2026 in Delhi.

Naidu, who participated in the summit in the national capital, also held meetings with several global technology leaders and industrialists to explore collaborations in artificial intelligence, clean energy and innovation ecosystems. 

He met Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen, Autodesk AI Head Mike Haley, Aramco India Director Abdul Rehman AiThukair, LEGO Education Vice President Tom Hall, Aadhaar Founder and CTO Srikanth Nadhamuni, Khosla Ventures Managing Partner Vinod Khosla and others at the AP Pavilion. 

The chief minister also held discussions with Saudi Aramco representatives on clean energy projects, including solar initiatives, and invited the company to expand operations in Andhra Pradesh, stating that the state is highly suitable for green energy production. 

He sought support from NVIDIA Vice President Callista Redmond for establishing AI Living Labs and proposed partnerships through the Ratan Tata Innovation Hub to promote youth innovation, including collaborations with IIT Tirupati and Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Tirupati under the Andhra Pradesh Future Innovation and Research for Science and Technology (AP FIRST) initiative. 

Naidu urged Autodesk leadership to support the development of Global Capability Centres in design engineering and requested the establishment of an Innovation Academy in Amaravati aligned with quantum technology, besides proposing AI and robotics learning labs in partnership with LEGO Education. 

He also discussed AI-driven smart governance solutions with Quantela Inc Chairman Sridhar Gadhi, while World Bank Group Digital AI Regional Director Mahesh Uttamchandani met Naidu on the sidelines of the summit. 

Following the meetings, Naidu visited various exhibition stalls at the summit, including those of NVIDIA, Tata, Intel and Microsoft, and reviewed AI applications across agriculture, healthcare and industry.