Rohit, Kuldeep guide India to unprecedented series win in South Africa
Port Elizabeth: India clinched their maiden ODI series win on South African soil, taking an unbeatable 4-1 lead after outclassing the hosts by 73 runs in the fifth One-Day International (ODI) at the St. George's Park here on Tuesday.
Opener Rohit Sharma led the tourists striking his 17th ODI century before chinaman Kuldeep Yadav returned figures of 4/51 to bowl the Proteas out for 201, in their chase of 274.
The Proteas started off fluently with skipper Aiden Markram (32) and Hashim Amla (71) putting on 52 runs in the first powerplay before first change seamer Hardik Pandya struck thrice in quick succession.
Pandya first removed Markram caught by skipper Virat Kohli at mid-off before inducing Jean Paul Duminy (1) to edge a length delivery off to Rohit at first slip. He then struck again after a couple of overs with the wicket of dangerman AB de Villers (6) caught behind by Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
Struggling at 65/3, David Miller (36) came to South Africa's rescue, forging a 62-run fourth wicket stand with Amla, before leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal brought the tourists back into the game with the wicket of the southpaw.
Despite losing his partners Amla, meanwhile, continued to fight a lone battle, reaching his 35th ODI fifty, his first in 13 innings even as he entered the milestone of 7,500 runs in 50-over cricket. But the joy was shortlived for the Proteas, with Pandya showing his magic in the field this time with a brilliant direct throw to dismiss Amla.
Chinaman Kuldeep Yadav soon joined the party dismissing any chances of a South African comeback with the wickets of Andile Phehlukwayo (0), Kagiso Rabada (3), Heinrich Klaasen (39) and Tabraiz Shamsi (0) to reduce the hosts from 166/5 to 197/9. Chahal then came back to trap last man Morne Morkel (1) as the visitors erupted in joy.
Earlier, India rode on Rohit's 126-ball 115, laced with 11 boundaries and four sixes to post 274/7 even after the lower order failed to capitalize on the brilliant start. Rohit became the fourth highest century scorer in ODIs for India, after Sachin Tendulkar (49), Virat Kohli (34) and Sourav Ganguly (22).
For South Africa, Lungisani Ngidi was the pick of the bowlers returning figures of 4/51 while Kagiso Rabada picked up a wicket. Asked to bat, openers Shikhar Dhawan (34) and Rohit got India off to a decent start before the former was removed by Rabada. Rohit, who struggled to score in all the four previous games similarly started his innings.
However, a boundary and a hit over the fence in back-to-back overs set the momentum for the Mumbai batsman, who did not look back. Rohit, however, was involved in two unfortunate run-outs -- first with skipper Virat Kohli (36) after sharing a 105-run second wicket stand and then Ajinkya Rahane (8), who fell victim to Rohit's mistimed call.
Despite that, the Mumbaikar continued his flow of runs to bring up his century in the 36th over after he got a lucky escape batting on 96 being dropped by Tabraiz Shamsi. Incoming batsman Shreyas Iyer (30) played the perfect second fiddle to Rohit, engaging in a 60-run fourth wicket stand before Ngidi struck with the wicket of the centurion.
Ngidi continued his magic spell, scalping Hardik Pandya (0) next ball before former captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni walked into the middle. But Ngidi kept intimidating the Indians and was successful in seeing the back of Iyer before packing back Dhoni for 13 runs even as Bhuvneshwar Kumar (19 not out) contributed some essential runs to help the team to a healthy total.
Brief scores: India 274/7 (Rohit Sharma 115, Virat Kohli 36, Shikhar Dhawan 34; Lungisani Ngidi 3/35) beat South Africa 201 (Hashim Amla 71, Heinrich Klaasen 39, Kuldeep Yadav 4/51, Hardik Pandya 2/30) by 73 runs.
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Trouble ‘Miyas’ everywhere only then they will leave Assam: Himanta Biswa Sarma
Says “Himanta Biswa Sarma, BJP are openly against them, we are saying it openly
New Delhi: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday said that four to five lakh “Miya voters” would be removed from the electoral rolls in the state once the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists is carried out. He also made a series of controversial remarks openly targeting the Miya community, a term commonly used in Assam in a derogatory sense to refer to Bengali-speaking Muslims.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an official programme in Digboi in Tinsukia district, Sarma said it was his responsibility to create difficulties for the Miya community and claimed that both he and the BJP were “directly against Miyas”.
“Four to five lakh Miya votes will have to be deleted in Assam when the SIR happens,” Sarma said, adding that such voters “should ideally not be allowed to vote in Assam, but in Bangladesh”. He asserted that the government was ensuring that they would not be able to vote in the state.
The chief minister was responding to questions about notices issued to thousands of Bengali-speaking Muslims during the claims and objections phase of the ongoing Special Revision (SR) of electoral rolls in Assam. While the Election Commission is conducting SIR exercises in 12 states and Union Territories, Assam is currently undergoing an SR, which is usually meant for routine updates.
Calling the current SR “preliminary”, Sarma said that a full-fledged SIR in Assam would lead to large-scale deletion of Miya voters. He said he was unconcerned about criticism from opposition parties over the issue.
“Let the Congress abuse me as much as they want. My job is to make the Miya people suffer,” Sarma said. He claimed that complaints filed against members of the community were done on his instructions and that he had encouraged BJP workers to keep filing complaints.
“I have told people wherever possible they should fill Form 7 so that they have to run around a little and are troubled,” he said, adding that such actions were meant to send a message that “the Assamese people are still living”.
In remarks that drew further outrage, Sarma urged people to trouble members of the Miya community in everyday life, claiming that “only if they face troubles will they leave Assam”. He also accused the media of sympathising with the community and warned journalists against such coverage.
“So you all should also trouble, and you should not do news that sympathise with them. There will be love jihad in your own house.” He said.
The comments triggered reactions from opposition leaders. Raijor Dal president and MLA Akhil Gogoi said the people of Assam had not elected Sarma to keep one community under constant pressure. Congress leader Aman Wadud accused the chief minister of rendering the Constitution meaningless in the state, saying his remarks showed a complete disregard for constitutional values.
According to the draft electoral rolls published on December 27, Assam currently has 2.51 crore voters. Election officials said 4.78 lakh names were marked as deceased, 5.23 lakh as having shifted, and 53,619 duplicate entries were removed during the revision process. Authorities also claimed that verification had been completed for over 61 lakh households.
On January 25, six opposition parties the Congress, Raijor Dal, Assam Jatiya Parishad, CPI, CPI(M) and CPI(M-L) submitted a memorandum to the state’s chief electoral officer. They alleged widespread legal violations, political interference and selective targeting of genuine voters during the SR exercise, describing it as arbitrary, unlawful and unconstitutional.
