Shubman Gill retires hurt with neck sprain
Kolkata (PTI): India skipper Shubman Gill retired hurt after suffering a neck sprain while attempting a slog sweep off Simon Harmer on the second day of the first Test against South Africa, here on Saturday.
Gill faced just three balls before the injury forced him off the field.
He struck Harmer for a slog-swept four over backward square leg but appeared to suffer a whiplash in the follow-through, immediately clutching the back of his neck.
The physio rushed in, and after a brief check, the opener walked off grimacing in discomfort.
The BCCI has not yet issued any communication on the extent of the injury.
The incident came in an eventful 35th over after the drinks break, where Harmer had moments earlier removed a well-set Washington Sundar for 29 off 82 balls with a classical off-spinner’s dismissal -- the ball drifting and turning away to take the outside edge for Aiden Markram at slip.
Gill’s premature exit meant India had lost three batters -- two wickets (Yashasvi Jaiswal, Washington) and a retired hurt -- in quick time, altering the complexion of the session.
The scoreboard read 79/2 after 35 overs but the hosts could be effectively three down in reply to the visitors' 159 all out.
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Russian military hardware, spare parts for Indian military to be manufactured in India
New Delhi (PTI): Russia agreed to encourage joint manufacturing in India of military hardware and spare parts for maintenance of Russian-origin arms and defence equipment.
Ways to bolster overall bilateral defence cooperation figured prominently during summit talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday.
It has been a long-standing grievance of armed forces that the supply of critical spares and equipment from Russia takes a long time, affecting the maintenance of military systems procured from that country.
"Both sides agreed to encourage joint manufacturing in India of spare parts, components, aggregates and other products for maintenance of Russian origin arms and defence equipment under Make-in-India programme through transfer of technology," a joint statement said.
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It said both sides also agreed to set up joint ventures for meeting the needs of the Indian armed forces as well as subsequent export to mutually friendly third countries.
The joint statement said the India-Russia defence partnership is being reoriented to take up joint co-development and co-production of advanced defence technology and systems.
In their meeting on Thursday, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Russian counterpart Andrey Belousov resolved to expand bilateral defence cooperation.
In the meeting, the Indian side showed keen interest in procurement of additional batches of S-400 missile systems from Moscow to bolster its combat prowess.
In October 2018, India signed a USD 5 billion deal with Russia to buy five units of the S-400 air defence missile systems, notwithstanding a warning by the US that going ahead with the contract may invite US sanctions under the provisions of Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA).
Three squadrons have already been delivered.
The S-400 systems played a crucial role during Operation Sindoor. India may also look at procuring the S-500 missile systems from Russia.
In the Modi-Putin talks, the two sides also agreed to continue jointly developing systems of bilateral trade settlements through the use of national currencies.
Additionally, the two sides agreed to continue their consultations on enabling the interoperability of the national payment systems, financial messaging systems, as well as central bank digital currency platforms.
Modi and Putin appreciated the ongoing intensification of the joint work on a free trade agreement on goods between India and the Eurasian Economic Union, covering sectors of mutual interest, the joint statement said.
They also directed both sides to intensify efforts in negotiations on a mutually beneficial agreement on the promotion and protection of investment, it said.
India and Russia also welcomed steps to ensure long-term supply of fertilisers to India and discussed the potential establishment of joint ventures in this area.
