South Africa lose Markram in pursuit of tough 305-run target against India
Centurion(PTI): Indian batters struggled to cope with uneven bounce but did enough to set up a stiff 305-run victory target for South Africa as they managed to score 174 runs in their second innings on the fourth day of the opening Test, here on Wednesday.
On an ever-deteriorating surface, South Africa were 22 for 1 at the tea break. The hosts lost opener Aiden Markram (1) with Mohammed Shami drawing first blood when the batter failed to remove his blade only to be played on.
India's struggling senior troika of Cheteshwar Pujara (16), skipper Virat Kohli (18), Ajinkya Rahane (20) played some indiscreet shots while some of the others were done-in by widening cracks that led to deliveries rearing up awkwardly from short of length.
KL Rahul (23), Rishabh Pant (34) and Ravichandran Ashwin (14) got snorters that grew big on them as Kagiso Rabada (4/42), debutant Marco Jansen (4/55) and Lungi Ngidi (2/31) looked menacing during the one and half sessions that the Indians batted.
South Africa have more than 140 overs to score 305 but on this Supersport Park track, it will be a Herculean task to make a match of the target with highest successful chase here being 251 by England back in 2000-01.
For South Africa's batting line-up that distinctly lacks class of bygone era, facing Jasprit Bumrah, Shami and Mohammed Siraj will be more than a tall order.
Indian team certainly owes it to openers on Day one and the ever-consistent fast bowling unit that has helped them gain control of proceedings.
Otherwise the middle-order has cut a sorry picture and more so skipper Kohli, who is promising a lot with some delectable boundaries but the propensity to drive anything pitched fuller outside the off-stump is bringing about his downfall.
Young Jansen, who had impressed the India skipper as a net bowler during their last tour of 2018, would certainly remember his debut as he angled one across at fuller length enticing the skipper to go for a drive.
Pujara once again played a lot of dot deliveries and then tickled one down the leg-side to Quinton de Kock off Ngidi.
The most embarrassing of the dismissals was Rahane's after he had hooked and cover drove Jansen for a six and a four.
The first hook shot was off a bouncer above his left shoulder and the second one was over his right shoulder at a slightly lower height. He couldn't check his pull-shot and holed out at deep square leg.
Had it not been for Pant's counter-attacking run-a-ball 34, India wouldn't have gained the psychological advantage of a target of 300 plus.
India had scored 63 runs in the morning session with KL Rahul (23 off 74 balls) showing admirable patience during the first hour, leaving a lot of deliveries outside the off-stump before Ngidi softened him up with one that came in sharply and hit him on the knuckle.
A close look showed considerable swelling and Rahul needed medical treatment and there was a lapse of concentration as he fished at one outside the off-stump and skipper Dean Elgar at first slip took an overhead catch.
The likes of Ravichandran Ashwin and Shami also got hit on the knuckles as Rabada and Ngidi consistently hit one spot - short of good length with a widening crack. However that was certainly a welcome sign for Indian pacers.
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US warns shipping firms they could face sanctions over paying Iranian tolls in Strait of Hormuz
Dubai (AP): The United States is warning shipping companies that they could face sanctions for making payments to Iran to safely pass through the Strait of Hormuz.
The alert posted Friday by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control adds another layer of pressure in the standoff between the US and Iran over control of the Strait of Hormuz.
About a fifth of the world's trade in oil and natural gas typically passes through the strait at the mouth of the Persian Gulf in peacetime.
Iran effectively closed the strait to normal traffic by attacking and threatening to attack ships after the US and Israel launched a war on Feb. 28. It later began offering some ships safe passage by detouring them through alternate routes closer to its shoreline, charging fees at times for the service.
That "tollbooth” effort is the focus of the US sanctions warning.
The payment demands could include transfers not only in cash but also “digital assets, offsets, informal swaps, or other in-kind payments,” including chartibale donations and payments at Iranian embassies, OFAC said.
“OFAC is issuing this alert to warn US and non-US persons about the sanctions risks of making these payments to, or soliciting guarantees from, the Iranian regime for safe passage. These risks exist regardless of payment method,” it said.
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The US responded to Iran's closure of the strait with a naval blockade of its own on April 13, preventing any Iranian tankers from leaving and depriving Iran of oil revenue it needs to shore up its ailing economy.
The US Central Command said 45 commercial ships have been told to turn around since the blockade began.
Trump rejects Iranian proposal
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The warning came as US President Donald Trump swiftly rejected Iran's latest proposal to end the war between the countries.
“They want to make a deal, I'm not satisfied with it, so we'll see what happens,” Trump said Friday at the White House. He didn't elaborate on what he saw as its shortcomings but expressed frustration with the Iranian leadership.
“It's a very disjointed leadership,” Trump said. “They all want to make a deal, but they're all messed up.”
Iran's state-run IRNA news agency reported Iran handed over its plan to mediators in Pakistan on Thursday night.
The shaky three-week ceasefire between the US and Iran appears to be holding, though both countries have traded accusations of violations. The standoff is increasingly putting pressure on the global economy, driving up prices and leading to shortages of fuel and other products tied to the oil industry.
Negotiations continued by phone after Trump called off his envoys' trip to Pakistan last week, the president said. Trump this week floated a new plan to reopen the critical passageway used by America's Gulf allies to export their oil and gas.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has briefed many of his regional counterparts on the country's initiatives to end the ear, according to his social media. He also held talks Friday with European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, who is in contact with the EU's Gulf partners.
China's UN envoy urges Iran to lift restrictions
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Fu Cong, the Chinese ambassdor to the United Nations, said Friday that maintaining the ceasefire is “the most urgent issue" as well as bringing together the sides to resume good faith negotiations “to make sure that the ground is laid for reopening of Hormuz.”
Foreign Minister Wang Yi “has been on the phone almost constantly” with representatives from all sides, Fu said, adding that China supports Pakistan's efforts to mediate between the parties.
Fu stressed the root cause of the tremendous suffering in Iran and neighboring countries and the growing turmoil in the global economy, especially in developing countries, “is the illegitimate war by the US and Israel.
