India make early inroads but Root fifty takes England to 119 for 2 at lunch
Nottingham, Aug 7: India's fast bowlers made early inroads but England captain Joe Root hit a lovely counter-attacking half-century to take England's second innings score to 119 for 2 against India at lunch on the fourth day of the opening Test.
England currently have erased the 95-run first innings deficit to enjoy a slender 24-run lead with bright sunshine baking the pitch and making stroke-play easier than the first three days.
Root , who hit nine boundaries, including some rasping drives through the cover, is batting on 56 off 74 balls while opener Dom Sibley (27 batting off 116 balls) survived anxious moments as he got a DRS decision overturned off Shardul Thakur's bowling.
Virat Kohli wanted quick breakthroughs to put pressure on the opposition and Mohammed Siraj (11-2-36-1) and Jasprit Bumraj (8-2-20-1) did just that in the first halfhour, removing Rory Burns (18 off 49 balls) and Zak Crawley (6 off 7 balls) respectively in quick succession.
The extra pace possessed by both did help them as Siraj got one to angle across Burns and the edge was a regulation catch for Rishabh Pant.
Pant however had to dive to his right to pouch the thick outside edge that came from Crawley's bat when Bumrah's delivery straightened after pitching.
Both Burns and Crawley after their prolonged poor run for England will be doubtful starters in the second Test.
Two quick wickets could have put England under pressure but Root decided to take the aggressive route as he started with a streaky boundary with an open bat face past gully. The bowler was Bumrah.
In the very next over from Siraj, he crunched one through covers and the third boundary was a whip past mid-wicket followed by another cover drive. Mohammed Shami failed to find his rhythm during the morning session as he was taken apart by Root.
Courtesy Root, the duo quickly added 50 runs for the third wicket as England slowly covered the deficit.
Root did survive a leg-before appeal after a delivery from Jadeja skid through and found him on the backfoot. Although India reviewed the appeal, it was evident that the ball had not pitched in line of stumps and thus English captain had nothing to worry.
As if to punish Jadeja, he played a back-cut as England went past 100-run mark and a boundary past slip cordon got him his 51st fifty in Test match cricket.
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'Biggest political conspiracy': teary Arvind Kejriwal after court discharge in liquor policy case
New Delhi (PTI): An emotional Arvind Kejriwal on Friday asserted that the corruption case against him was the "biggest political conspiracy" in the history of Independent India, as a court here discharged him in the politically sensational liquor policy case.
After the court verdict, Kejriwal broke down while talking to the reporters. The AAP convener was present in the court when the order was passed.
"The court has proved that Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and AAP are 'Kattar Imaandar'," he said, accompanied by former deputy chief minister of Delhi Sisodia.
Kejriwal alleged that the "conspiracy" of the excise case was hatched to finish off AAP at the behest of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
"I always used to say that the god is with us. Modi ji and Amit Shah ji together hatched the biggest political conspiracy of Independent India. The five biggest leaders of AAP were sent to jail for finishing off the party," the former Delhi chief minister alleged.
First time a sitting Chief Minister was "dragged out of his home and put in jail," Kejriwal said and reminded people of his and Sisodia's jailing.
The entire case was fake, asserted Kejriwal, who was arrested in the alleged liquor scam case in March 2024 by the Enforcement Directorate.
"Mud slinging was resorted to against us. There were round-the-clock TV debates, and news was flashed that Kejriwal is corrupt," he said, breaking down.
He continued in a hoarse voice, "I have only earned honesty. They registered a fake case. Today, it's proved, the court has said 'Kejriwal Kattar Imandar Hai, Manish Sisodia Kattar Imandar Hai, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Kattar Imandar Hai.'"
The AAP supremo said he wanted to tell the prime minister not to toy with the country and the Constitution in his pursuit of power.
"If you want power, do good things. There are so many problems -- inflation, unemployment, broken down roads, pollution -- solve these problems to come to power," he said.
The AAP chief was greeted by his family at his residence on Feroz Shah Road. Party members and supporters danced to drum beats and distributed sweets.
Sunita Kejriwal, his wife, thanked the court and the judge for "bravery."
"Arvind Kejriwal led his entire life with honesty and for the progress of the country. But these people, in their greed for power, levelled fake charges, jailed his aides... But I had faith in God," she told PTI Videos.
Before the court vindication, the multi-crore-rupee corruption allegations led to the jailing of Kejriwal and Sisodia for an extended period of time.
After he went to prison, Kejriwal resigned from the post of Delhi chief minister, vowing to return to the post only when he was proven innocent.
Kejriwal became the first sitting Delhi chief minister to be arrested on March 21, 2024. He got bail from the Supreme Court on September 13 of the same year.
Sisodia, a former deputy chief minister, served around 17 months in jail before being released on bail.
On Friday, a Delhi court discharged both leaders in the excise policy-related corruption case, refusing to take cognisance of the CBI chargesheet.
Special Judge Jitendra Singh said that the chargesheet had several lacunae not supported by evidence, as he discharged 21 more besides the two Aam Aadmi Party leaders in the matter.
K Kavitha, the daughter of former Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao and a leader from the Bharat Rashtra Samithi, was also among the acquitted.
The CBI has been probing alleged corruption in the formulation and execution of the erstwhile-AAP government's now-scrapped excise policy.
