Marsh and Head fall as India close on Australia Test win
Adelaide, Dec 10 : India removed Travis Head and Shaun Marsh in the first session of the fifth and final day to close in on victory in the opening Test against Australia here Monday.
Set a target of 323, Australia reached 186 for six at lunch at the Adelaide Oval. The visitors need another four wickets to take a 1-0 lead in the series.
Australia meanwhile need another 137 runs, with Tim Paine (40 not out) and Pat Cummins (5 not out) at the crease at lunch-break. They added 30 runs for the seventh wicket.
Starting from overnight 104 for four, the Head-Marsh partnership lasted only 7.4 overs before India forced a breakthrough with the old Kookaburra ball.
Head (14) was the first to go, with Ishant Sharma (1-35) bowling a sharp bouncer that followed the batsman and left him no room. The ball looped up to gully where Ajinkya Rahane made no mistake.
The duo had added 31 runs with the onus now on Marsh and Paine as the last recognised batting pair.
Marsh shouldered the responsibility and scored his first half-century in the fourth innings of a Test off 146 balls. It was his 10th Test half-century overall.
He had looked comfortable at the crease all morning, but Jasprit Bumrah (1-23) removed him after the drinks' break. The big moment came as the ball moved away just a tad and Marsh gave the slightest of edges to be caught behind in the 73rd over.
It was Rishabh Pant's ninth dismissal in the Test, equalling MS Dhoni (9 versus Australia, Melboure in 2014) as the second-best haul by an Indian wicket keeper in overseas Tests.
Cummins then helped Paine play out 10.5 overs, although he had a couple hairy moments in the 74th over off R Ashwin (2-71). India wasted a DRS review when they thought he had edged it. Four balls later, a loud appeal for caught at short leg was turned down with Cummins reviewing it successfully this time.
Rohit Sharma went off the field an hour before lunch with a lower back issue and is being receiving medical attention for the same.
India scored 250 in their first innings with Cheteshwar Pujara anchoring with his 16th Test century. Australia replied with 235 and conceded a 15-run lead. The visitors then finished 307 in their second innings, including a collapse of 5 for 25, and set a 323-run target on day four.
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SIT says Dharmasthala mass burial allegations were fabricated; 6 accused named
Bengaluru: The Special Investigation Team (SIT) has told a Beltangady court that the alleged Dharmasthala mass burial case was a completely fabricated conspiracy by anti-Dharmasthala activists.
The SIT named six accused in the case, Chinnayya (A1), Mahesh Shetty Timrodi, Girish Mattannanavar, Jayanth, Vitthal Gowda, and Sujatha Bhatt. In its preliminary report, the SIT said Dharmasthala authorities had no role in the allegations and issued them a clean chit, as reported by India Today on Wednesday.
The SIT reportedly said, the first accused, Chinnayya, was paid, pressured and coached to give false statements. A false narrative of “mass burials” was allegedly built to target Dharmasthala, with the accused procuring a skull, staging evidence, and recording coached statements.
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The SIT also stated that conspiracy meetings were held at the residence of Mahesh Shetty Timrodi. Video clips, bank transaction details, electronic records and witness statements have reportedly been recovered as part of the probe. The SIT concluded, in its preliminary report, that the mass burial allegations were fabricated and orchestrated as part of a planned conspiracy.
According to the report, the SIT has now sought court permission to arrest five of the accused. Arrests could take place any moment if approval is granted, and the agency is preparing for custodial interrogation to file its final report.
Reacting to the filing of the charge sheet, Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar reportedly said he had already stated in the Assembly that the accusations were part of a conspiracy.
“Some of our own leaders asked me about it. I knew the allegations were not factual and that a conspiracy was underway. But ultimately, the truth has prevailed. Justice has been done,” IT quoted Shivakumar as saying.
Shivakumar said that he had not yet seen the charge sheet and only learned about it through the media. He said the law must take its own course and warned that such conspiracies would damage institutions that had existed for years. As per the report, he also commented on differences between the RSS and the BJP, saying they were “deeply connected to this conspiracy.”
