Jadeja scores his second ton, Bumrah breaks Lara's world record in India's 416
Birmingham, Jul 2: Ravindra Jadeja reaffirmed his status as India's most valuable player across formats with a superbly crafted hundred before skipper Jasprit Bumrah took the centre-stage, smashing a world record as the visitors scored an impressive 416 against England on the second day of the fifth Test match.
At lunch, England were 16 for one as a nicely warmed-up Bumrah castled opener Alex Lees (6) with a delivery that came in with the angle.
But it was Bumrah (31 no, 16 balls) the batter whose fireworks will be remembered by the capacity Edgbaston crowd for the longest time as he smashed 29 runs off a Stuart Broad over. In all, that over yielded 35 runs, including six extras.
In his first match at helm as captain, Bumrah would have never thought that he would pip Brian Lara's maximum runs (28 runs) in a single Test match over, which remained intact for 18 years.
Bumrah used the bat like a sword and even the edges seemed like "sweet spot" as he hit four boundaries and two sixes off Broad to give the hosts a dose of 'Bazball' (Brendon McCullum's attacking philosophy), which had become a trending lingo in English cricket during the past few weeks.
While Rishabh Pant's century for the ages and Jadeja's second ton set up the platform, one can't discount the 93 runs that India added with contributions from number 9, 10 and 11.
In the morning, Jadeja, was cautious as ever before deliberately guiding a Matthew Potts delivery with extra bounce over the slips for a boundary, and the second four was a lucky one that went over Joe Root in the slips.
A punchy drive through cover-point region got him his third century four months after he got the second one in Mohali.
This hundred, though, was of a far better quality, especially if one factors in the conditions, match situation and quality of opposition bowling.
Jadeja hit 13 boundaries, and his four and half hours stay at the wicket gave Pant an opportunity to play his natural attacking game, even as he dourly defended as and when required.
Having already scored 2500 runs in Test cricket alongside taking 242 wickets, Jadeja can safely be termed as the best all-rounder that the Indian team has had since the great Kapil Dev.
A Test batting average of 37 plus is better than many specialists who have played for India over the years.
As far as England's bowling is concerned, James Anderson (5/60), who is a month shy of turning 40, is still peerless as he got his 32nd five-wicket haul while Broad completed a creditable feat of 550 Test victims.
But 40 extra runs, including 14 no balls, will certainly haunt England in the long run.
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UP Cong holds statewide protest seeking probe into FIR against Swami Avimukteshwaranand
Lucknow (PTI): The Uttar Pradesh Congress on Wednesday staged a statewide protest demanding a fair and transparent inquiry into the FIR lodged against Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati and those who filed the complaint against him.
In a statement issued here, the party said memorandums addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi were submitted through district magistrates in all districts of the state.
Uttar Pradesh Congress spokesperson Manish Hindvi told PTI that the memorandums were handed over through the district administration in all 75 districts.
In the memorandum, the party alleged that Saraswati and his disciples were "unnecessarily harassed and humiliated" by police on the occasion of Amavasya and were prevented from taking a ritual bath (at the Magh Mela). It further alleged that some disciples were manhandled and taken to a police station.
The memorandum also claimed that an FIR was later registered against Saraswati, his disciple Swami Mukundanand Brahmachari and several unidentified persons in a sexual harassment case. It termed the case a "conspiracy" aimed at tarnishing the seer's reputation.
Citing Articles 25 and 26 of the Constitution, the memorandum stated that these provisions guarantee religious freedom and the right of religious denominations to manage their own affairs.
It described the position of shankaracharya held by Saraswati as "one of the highest spiritual posts in Sanatan tradition" and alleged that the entire episode appeared to have been "orchestrated in a planned manner".
"We request that the background of the persons who got the FIR registered be investigated in a transparent manner by a retired high court judge and strict action be taken against them," the memorandum said.
It also sought a "fair and transparent probe" into the allegations levelled against Saraswati so that the truth could be established.
Earlier, Uttar Pradesh Congress president Ajay Rai had told reporters in Varanasi after meeting Saraswati that the party stood firmly with him.
The Congress said it would continue to press for an impartial inquiry into the entire episode.
On February 21, an FIR was lodged in Prayagraj against Saraswati and his disciple Mukundanand Brahmachari on charges of sexually abusing two persons, including a minor, over the past year at a gurukul and religious congregations, including the recently concluded Magh Mela.
Days after he was booked, Saraswati had said on Monday that he would not oppose his arrest and asserted that the "fabricated story" would be exposed sooner or later.
At a press conference on Wednesday, Saraswati alleged that criminals rule in Uttar Pradesh, level allegations and influence investigations, as he denied having any contact with the two persons for whose alleged sexual abuse he has been booked.
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