Mominul strikes patient century, India reduce Bangladesh to 205/6
Kanpur (PTI): Mominul Haque hit a patient hundred on a placid pitch but India maintained pressure on Bangladesh with a couple of stunning catches, reducing the visitors to 205 for six at lunch on day four of the weather-hit second Test here here Monday.
The sun shone bright in the Kanpur sky after two gloomy days and the on-field action finally began after a loss of eight sessions.
It was still a first-day pitch but there was not much either for pacers or spinners. Bangladesh top-order batter Mominul completed his 13th Test century even as his colleagues failed to apply themselves in favourable conditions.
Resuming at 107 for three, Bangladesh lost Mushfiqur Rahim (11) in the sixth over of the day when Jasprit Bumrah castled him with an angled delivery.
It was an error of judgement from Rahim who left the ball, thinking it will go over the stumps but it stayed a bit low to disturb the off-stump.
In the previous ball also, Rahim was troubled by an angled delivery that took the edge and zoomed to the boundary ropes.
New-man in Litton Das (13) began confidently, driving a length ball from Bumrah through the cover region for a four and followed that up with another solid drive in the same region.
Mominul stayed solid from his end and also survived a catch appeal off Mohammed Siraj. The southpaw was beaten, the ball hit his thigh-pad and DRS showed the ball had not touched his glove before being taken by Yashasvi Jaiswal.
In the next ball, Mominul completed his half-century by pulling a short one from Siraj to the square leg boundary.
Rohit Sharma, standing at mid-off, pulled a stunner from thin air when Das charged down the wicket to Siraj but stood in disbelief after his powerful hit was plucked by the Indian captain mid-off.
In came Bangladeshi legend Shakib Al Hasan (9), who is probably playing his last Test match, but he did not last long. He got his first boundary by working a full-length from Siraj on the leg side.
He went after Ashwin but could not connect well as his one hand came off the bat. Siraj standing at mid-off backpaddled to take a stunning catch.
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Sanjay Raut demands re-election, alleges irregularities in EVMs during Maharashtra polls
Mumbai, Nov 25: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Monday demanded a re-election in Maharashtra using ballot papers, claiming there were irregularities with the electronic voting machines (EVMs).
Talking to reporters, Raut alleged several complaints about EVMs malfunctioning and questioned the integrity of the recently held elections.
The BJP-led Mahayuti won 230 out of 288 seats in the assembly elections, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi managed 46 seats, with Shiv Sena (UBT) winning just 20 out of 95 seats it contested.
"We have received nearly 450 complaints regarding EVMs. Despite raising objections repeatedly, no action has been taken on these issues. How can we say these elections were conducted fairly? Hence, I demand that the results be set aside and elections be held again using ballot papers," Raut said.
Citing some instances, he said a candidate in Nashik reportedly received only four votes despite having 65 votes from his family, while in Dombivli, discrepancies were found in EVM tallies, and election officials refused to acknowledge the objections.
The Sena (UBT) leader also questioned the credibility of the landslide victories of some candidates, saying, "What revolutionary work have they done to receive more than 1.5 lakh votes? Even leaders who recently switched parties have become MLAs. This raises suspicions. For the first time, a senior leader like Sharad Pawar has expressed doubts about EVMs, which cannot be ignored."
Asked about the MVA's poor performance in the elections, Raut rejected the idea of blaming a single individual.
"We fought as a united MVA. Even a leader like Sharad Pawar, who commands immense respect in Maharashtra, faced defeat. This shows that we need to analyse the reasons behind the failure. One of the reasons is EVM irregularities and the misuse of the system, unconstitutional practices, and even judicial decisions left unresolved by Justice Chandrachud," he said.
Raut stressed that though internal differences might have existed within the MVA, the failure was collective.
He also accused the Mahayuti of conducting the elections in an unfair manner.
"I cannot call the elections fair given the numerous reports of discrepancies in EVMs, mismatched numbers, and vote irregularities across the state," Raut said.
