India beat Australia by 137 runs in 3rd Test
Melbourne, Dec 30 : India took giant strides towards winning their first ever series on Australian soil in seven decades by retaining the Border-Gavaskar Trophy with a comprehensive 137-run win in the third Test on Sunday.
Taking an unassailable 2-1 lead in the four-match series, India will retain the coveted trophy even if the series is drawn level at Sydney as they have won the previous series at home in 2017.
It took only 27 balls on the fifth day afternoon as Jasprit Bumrah (3/53) and Ishant Sharma (2/40) completed the formalities in what turned out to be India's 150th Test victory.
After losing out the first session due to steady showers, Australia could onl;y manage to add three runs to their overnight score of 258 for 8 as they were all out for 261 in 89.3 overs.
India thus won a Test match at the iconic MCG after 37 long years when Sunil Gavaskar's men beat Greg Chappell's side in the 1980-81 series.
Fittingly it was the legendary Kapil Dev, who had then played a major role taking five wickets in defending a low total while it was young Bumrah with match figures of 9 for 86, who was the hero on what looked like a docile track.
Bumrah got rid of Pat Cummins (63), who edged to first slip and brought an end to his heroic effort in this Test.
Five balls later, Ishant Sharma got rid of Nathan Lyon (7), caught behind as Rishabh Pant took his 20th dismissal in this series, which is highest by any Indian wicket-keeper.
For Bumrah, 48 wickets in his debut Test season is highest by any pace bowler and also is a testimony to a lethal pace trio involving the veteran Ishant Sharma and the wily Mohammed Shami (2/71), who also played his part well.
The trio have collectively taken 134 away wickets (Bumrah 48, Ishant 40 and Shami 46) in a single calender year eclipsing the 34-year-old record that stood in the name of the fearsome West Indies trio of Malcolm Marshall, Michael Holding and Joel Garner (130 wickets in away tours in 1984).
No wonder skipper Virat Kohli was delighted and attributed their success to their ability to complement each other.
"We knew that it would be tough for Australia, but credit to our bowlers, especially Jasprit. The three fast bowlers have broken the record for most wickets by pacers in a calendar year for a team, which is brilliant," Kohli was all praise for his speed merchants.
"I certainly feel proud as a captain when they bowl in partnerships. No one is looking to out-bowl each other. Our first-class cricket is amazing, which is why we won. Credit must go to first-class set-up in India, which challenges our fast bowlers in India, and that helps them abroad," the skipper said.
Even Bumrah spoke about how India's first-class set-up has him a better bowler.
"My aim is to always focus on consistency. We train very hard and we are used to bowling a lot of overs in Ranji Cricket, so the body is doing well. My focus is on the next Test now," said Bumrah.
Having got only better since his debut in South Africa, Bumrah is hopeful that better things await for him in near future.
"It was always a dream to play Test cricket and I was really happy when I debuted in South Africa. I started learning slowly, in England it was a different experience. Coming to Australia has been a different experience as well. The start has been good, and hopefully, I will keep getting better," the bowler said.
Bumrah's skipper is confident that his men won't take their feet off the pedal and win the series 3-1.
"We are not going to stop here. This (win) will give us more confidence and we will play more positively in Sydney. I think we have been really smart in all the departments in the two matches that we have won," Kohli said.
"That is the reason we have at least retained the trophy but job is not done yet. It's not finished at all. We want to win the last Test match as well, if an opportunity comes our way. We don't want to be complacent. We are all but ready for the final Test match," he added.
There was a bit of scare when the morning session was lost due to rain but Kohli said that he was not bothered about talks of not enforcing the follow-on.
"It's a good thing that I don't read any comments or what the opinions are. What matters is what we decide inside the dressing room as a team unit. We were pretty clear that we wanted to bat third on this pitch and wanted to get more runs as the pitch was only getting worse.
"I always felt the pitch had enough for the bowlers and a score around 400 will be extremely tough for Australia to chase down," the skipper said.
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Jharkhand horror: Man kills live-in partner, chops body into 40 pieces
Ranchi (PTI): A 25-year-old man, who works as a butcher, allegedly strangled to death his live-in partner and chopped her body into 40 to 50 pieces in a forested area in Jharkhand’s Khunti district, police said on Wednesday.
The accused, identified as Naresh Bhengra, was arrested.
The matter came to light after around a fortnight after the killing when a stray dog was found with human body parts near Jordag village in Jariagarh police station on November 24.
Bhengra was in a live-in relationship with the deceased, a 24-year-old woman also from Khunti district, in Tamil Nadu for the past couple of years. Sometime back, he returned to Jharkhand, got married to another woman without telling his partner anything and went back to the southern state without his wife to join her.
"The brutal incident occurred on November 8 when they reached Khunti as the accused who had married another woman did not wish to take her home. Instead, he took her to a forest near his house at Jordag village in Jariagarh police station and chopped the body into pieces. The man has been arrested," Khunti Superintendent of Police Aman Kumar told PTI.
Inspector Ashok Singh who investigated the case said the man worked in a butcher shop in Tamil Nadu and was expert in slicing chicken.
“He admitted chopping the body parts of the woman into 40 to 50 pieces before leaving those in the forest for wild animals to feast on. The police recovered several parts on November 24 after a dog in the area was seen with a hand," Singh told PTI.
Singh said that the woman, who was unaware of his marriage, pressured him to return to Khunti. After reaching Ranchi, they boarded a train on November 24 and headed to the man's village.
"Under a plan, the man took her to Khunti in an autorickshaw near his home and asked her to wait. He returned with sharp weapons and strangulated her with her dupatta after raping her. He then cut the body into 40 to 50 pieces and left for his home to live with his wife," Singh said.
The woman, however, had informed her mother that she had boarded a train and would be living with her partner, the police officer said.
Following the recovery of body parts, a bag was also found in the forest with the murdered woman's belongings including her Aadhaar card. The mother of the woman was called at the spot and she identified her daughter's belongings.
"The mother suspected the man behind the crime who after being nabbed by the police admitted to chopping the woman into pieces," the official added.
The incident has sent shockwaves among people in the region, with the Shraddha Walker murder case of 2022 still fresh in their memory.
Walker was killed by her live-in partner who chopped her body into pieces before dumping them in the jungle in South Delhi’s Mehrauli.
