Kuldeep's double strike leaves England at 100 for two at lunch
Dharamsala (PTI): Zak Crawley made a classy unbeaten half-century after surviving an extended opening spell from the Indian pacers before Kuldeep Yadav struck twice to leave the visitors at 100 for two at lunch on day one of the fifth and final Test here on Thursday.
On expected lines, the skillful duo of Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj made the ball talk but Ben Duckett (27 off 58) and Crawley (61 batting off 71) were able to see the first 14 overs of fast bowling after being beaten multiple times.
Crawley, who has been England's stand-out batter in this series, was meticulous with his shot selection and played some delightful cover drives off the pacers on way to his half-century.
Siraj ended up bowling eight overs in the morning session and Bumrah seven with both conceding 24 runs.
R Ashwin, playing his 100th Test, was the first change before Kuldeep came to bowl in the 18th over.
Despite being hit for two fours off his first five balls, Kuldeep was not afraid to flight the ball and was rewarded as Duckett's mistimed hit was pouched by Shubman Gill, who took a spectacular catch running backwards from cover.
Like Duckett, Crawley too was beaten by the pacers in the first hour of play but he picked the right balls to flaunt his cover drives. He also survived a close DRS call before reaching his fourth half-century of the series with a boundary down the ground.
In the next over, Crawley stepped out to smash Ashwin for a six over long on.
Kuldeep's second strike came at the stroke of lunch as Ollie Pope (11) stepped out only to be beaten by the Indian spinner's googly and to get stumped.
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UP: Farmer shot dead over land dispute in Firozabad, brother injured
Firozabad (PTI): A 45-year-old farmer was shot dead while his brother was injured over an alleged land dispute in the Nasirpur area here, police said on Tuesday.
The incident occurred on Monday night in the Nandram Ki Madiya village, Circle Officer (CO) Sirsaganj Anvesh Kumar said.
According to the police, Satyabhan had an ongoing dispute with a fellow villager, Soorat Ram, over five bighas of land. Around six months ago, the district administration ruled in favour of Satyabhan and ensured, with the assistance of the police, that the last was handed over to him.
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His brother Chandrapal alleged that Soorat was upset over the decision. On Monday night, when Satyabhan was returning from his fields, the accused allegedly intercepted him near his house and opened fire, killing him on the spot.
When the victim’s Radha, his son Shivam and Chandrapal rushed to his rescue, the attackers allegedly assaulted them as well, leaving all three injured
Other family members also reached the spot and rushed Satyabhan to a hospital in Shikohabad, where doctors declared him dead. Chandrapal was also injured in the attack but is stated to be out of danger, police said.
An FIR has been registered based on the complaint of the victim's family, and the body has been sent for post-mortem examination, the CO said.
Efforts are on to trace and arrest the accused, he added.
