4th Test: India strike four blows in second session, Australia 198-5
Sydney, Jan 5: Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav shared four wickets as Australia were reduced to 198 for five at tea on day three of the fourth Test against India here on Saturday.
At the Sydney Cricket Ground, Jadeja took 2-51 and Yadav took 2-50 as the hosts trailed by 424 runs. Peter Handscomb (21) and Tim Paine (5) were the unbeaten batsmen.
Post lunch, Australia made the worst start possible with Marcus Harris (79) getting out before he could settle in again. In the third over after the restart, he played on off Jadeja.
In the 49th over, the left-arm spinner made it a double blow six overs later as Shaun Marsh (8) was caught at slip.
Australia barely managed to cross 150 in the 52nd over as India piled on the pressure. Unlike in the first session, only 35 runs came in the first hour of play. The pace of scoring did improve in the second hour with 41 runs taken, but India again struck twice to peg them back.
Ajinkya Rahane held a brilliant catch at short mid wicket to send back Marnus Labuschagne (38) off Mohammed Shami (1-54) soon after.
Travis Head (20) added 40 runs for the fifth wicket with Handscomb for the fifth wicket and brought some respite to the desperate Australian middle order.
But once again, as things looked settled down, they manufactured a wicket with Head hitting a full toss straight back at Yadav and was out caught.
Earlier Harris' half-century had helped Australia reach 122 for one at lunch.
Starting from overnight 24 for no loss, Australia quickly got off the blocks in the morning session. There wasn't much help from the pitch for the two pacers Shami and Jasprit Bumrah (0-43) who started proceedings.
It could be seen from Jadeja being brought on to bowl in the fifth over of the morning, while left-arm wrist spinner Yadav came on to bowl three overs later.
Australia sped to 50 within seven overs of play on this third morning, adding 27 runs in 29 minutes of play in the morning. Later, they crossed 100 in the 30th over.
India's lone success came from Yadav as Usman Khawaja (27) played a loose stroke against the spin and hit straight to Cheteshwar Pujara at mid-wicket.
Jadeja though struggled to find his control and was even hit for three fours in one by Harris, who brought up his second Test half-century off only 67 balls.
Australia had added 56 runs in the first hour of play, and then added another 38 post drinks in the morning session, as they comprehensively dominated the Indian bowling attack for only the second time in this series (after Perth).
India waited for reverse swing and brought back both pacers for another spell in the second half of this session, but both batsmen were set until then even if there was more control from the bowlers.
They brought up their 50-partnership off 103 balls on a warm day in Sydney.
On day one, Cheteshwar Pujara scored his 18th Test hundred, while Rishabh Pant scored his second Test hundred on day two as India had declared at 622 for seven in their first innings.
Latest Updates: AUS 236/6 (83.3 Ovs)
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Putin meets Iran's FM Araghchi, says Russia ready to do its best to help bring peace to West Asia
Moscow (PTI): Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Monday met Russian President Vladimir Putin, who hailed the Iranian people for fighting bravely and heroically for their sovereignty and said Moscow is ready to do its best to help bring peace to West Asia as soon as possible.
Araghchi, who held talks with Omani and Pakistani leadership before arriving in Russia, met Putin in St. Petersburg and thanked him for supporting Iran, state-owned TASS news agency reported.
"Russia is ready to do everything in its power to ensure that peace in the Middle East is achieved as soon as possible," Putin said during his meeting with Araghchi, which was also attended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Revealing that he received a message from Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei last week, Putin asked Araghchi to convey his "gratitude for this message and best wishes for his health and well-being."
He praised the Iranian people for fighting "bravely and heroically" for their sovereignty, Iran's state-run PRESS TV reported.
"We really hope that, based on the courage and desire for independence, the Iranian people, under the guidance of the new leader, will weather this difficult period of trials and peace will come,” Putin said.
He also stressed that Russia “intends to maintain” its strategic relations with Iran.
Araghchi said that the world witnessed Iran’s strength in countering the US during the recent war, and that the Islamic Republic is a "stable and powerful establishment."
"With their courage, the Iranian people succeeded in resisting the US aggression and will be able to endure it,” he said.
He said that it became clear that Iran has “great friends and allies” like Russia, and conveyed “warmest greetings” from Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian to the Russian leader.
Araghchi said relations between Moscow and Tehran represent a “strategic partnership at the highest level” and will continue to develop "regardless of circumstances."
"We are grateful to you for the solid and strong positions in support of the Islamic Republic of Iran," he said.
Foreign Minister Lavrov said that the talks between President Putin and the Iranian Foreign Minister were "useful and constructive."
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov later said that Russia is "ready to provide any good offices, any mediation services that are acceptable to the parties."
"We will be ready to do everything so that ultimately peace ensues, guaranteed peace, and that there is no return to hostilities," Peskov was quoted as saying by TASS.
He was asked how Moscow can assist in future negotiations on the Iranian settlement.
Araghchi arrived in Russia after his whirlwind trip to Islamabad, which, according to him, was “very productive” and involved “good consultations" with Pakistan's Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, amid uncertainty over the second round of peace talks to resolve the war in West Asia.
"We held good consultations with our friends in Pakistan. The trip was successful. We assessed the outcome of our recent (meetings) and discussed in what direction and under what conditions talks can move on,” Araghchi said in a video posted on his Telegram channel upon his arrival in St Petersburg.
Referring to the second round of talks between the US and Iran to resolve the conflict in West Asia, Araghchi said: "Developments have taken place in the negotiations."
"Despite some progress in earlier rounds, the talks failed to reach their objectives due to the Americans' approach, the excessive demands they made, and the wrong approaches they adopted. Therefore, it was necessary to consult with our friends in Pakistan to review the latest situation,” Iran's official news agency IRNA quoted him as saying.
He said that the trip to Pakistan was a good opportunity to review developments related to the US-Israeli war against Iran, expressing confidence that “these consultations and coordination between the two countries will be highly significant.”
Araghchi arrived at St. Petersburg's Pulkovo Airport early Monday, where he was welcomed by Russian officials and Iran’s ambassador to Russia, Kazem Jalali, the report said.
The first round of peace talks between Iran and the US, held on April 11 and 12, failed to bring the desired result for the parties to the conflict.
The Iranian minister arrived in Islamabad for the second time on Sunday after a short visit to Oman, where he held talks with Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al-Said on security in the Strait of Hormuz and diplomatic efforts to end the Iran-US conflict.
After Araghchi left Pakistan for Oman on Saturday, President Donald Trump announced that US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would no longer be going to Islamabad for talks with Iran, contending that Washington held all the cards on the matter.
Trump on Sunday reiterated that the US and Iranian officials can talk by phone for a peace solution to the conflict.
On Tuesday, Trump extended the two-week ceasefire with Iran indefinitely to give Tehran more time to prepare a unified proposal to end the war, just hours before the truce was set to expire.
The war began when the US and Israel jointly attacked Iran on February 28, killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several top commanders. The retaliation by the Islamic Republic extended the war to the entire Gulf region.
