South Africa seals place in World Test Championship final with a tense 2-wicket win against Pakistan
Centurion (South Africa), Dec 29: South Africa tailenders Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen hung in against relentless fast bowler Mohammad Abbas for a tense two-wicket win in the first test on Sunday to seal the Proteas' place in next year's World Test Championship final.
Jansen (16 not out) overshadowed Abbas' brilliant figures of 6-54 with a square driven boundary against the fast bowler as South Africa reached 150-8 just after lunch on Day 4 and escaped with a close win in the opener of the two-match series.
“Quite an emotional moment for me, good advert for test cricket,” said South Africa captain Temba Bavuma, who made 40. “We haven't been ruthless but have found a way to ensure the result was on our side. Lot of joy and happiness on our side, a bit of a rollercoaster, glad that we were able to get the result.”
Abbas, making a comeback after more than three years in the test wilderness, had knocked back South Africa's tricky chase of 148 runs in a marathon 13-over spell before lunch on Day 4 as the home team limped to 99-8, losing four wickets for three runs.
However, Rabada changed gears in an unbroken 51-run stand with Jansen and made an unbeaten 31 off 26 balls with five fours to seal a memorable victory and denied Pakistan its first test win in South Africa in almost 18 years.
South Africa had started this WTC cycle with a 1-1 drawn series against India before getting swept 2-0 in New Zealand. But since then the Proteas have beaten West Indies, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka to stay on top of the table.
“It (WTC final) is a big one, not just for myself but also the team and the coach," Bavuma said. "The way we started our campaign, against India and then New Zealand with a not-so-strong team, and the way we have gone through with our performances, not many gave us a chance.”
India, Australia and Sri Lanka are the other teams still in contention for next June's WTC final against South Africa at Lord's.
Captain Temba Bavuma (40) and Aiden Markram (37) had thwarted Abbas for an hour after South Africa resumed at a wobbly 27-3, still needing 121 for victory.
Bavuma's controversial dismissal punctuated a South Africa collapse in the latter half of first session with Abbas grabbing three off his six balls in a sensational home team collapse.
Bavuma, who made 40, surprisingly didn't request a television review when replays suggested that Abbas' ball had brushed the batter's pocket and didn't make contact with the inside edge of the bat but the South African skipper walked back to the dressing room.
Abbas bowled an unchanged marathon spell of 13 overs, but had to wait as Markram and Bavuma saw off eight overs from the fast bowlers.
Resuming at 27-3, Bavuma and Markram showed plenty of patience against Abbas' probing line and length before the fast bowler finally got the breakthrough after the first drinks break.
Abbas was rewarded for his brilliant seam bowling when he beat the outside edge of Markram's bat and knocked back the off stump.
Bavuma survived a couple of close chances when he successfully overturned an on-field lbw decision against him early in the day and Naseem Shah couldn't hold onto a sharp catch at fine leg as he overstepped the boundary cushion while grabbing the ball over his head.
South Africa had controlled the game at 96-4 before Bavuma's dismissal saw Abbas finding the outside edges of David Bedingham (14) and Corbin Bosch's (0) bat off successive deliveries and in between Kyle Verreynne dragged Naseem Shah's delivery back onto his stumps.
Abbas found the outside edge of Rabada's bat in his first over after lunch that fell just short of wicketkeeper Rizwan before both tailenders took the team home.
“Extremely proud of the efforts, but going forward we need to be ruthless,” Pakistan captain Shan Masood said. “We keep making the same mistakes but we have to get over the line, seize moments.”
The second test begins at Cape Town on Friday.
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— ICC (@ICC) December 29, 2024
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Gujarat HC raps law machinery for invoking POCSO Act in molestation case 8 years after FIR
Ahmedabad, Jan 1: The Gujarat High Court has berated the police and prosecution for invoking sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act against four men in a molestation case eight years after the FIR was filed and when the trial was near completion.
The court of Justice Sandeep Bhatt observed in an order passed last week that despite the victim categorically stating in her deposition in 2018 that she was 15 years of age at the time of the incident, neither the assistant public prosecutor nor the presiding officer conducting the trial took any action.
The court said the investigating agency as well as prosecution prima facie failed to discharge their duty in appropriate manner and did not make "proper application of mind", leading to wastage of time.
The victim had in 2016 lodged a complaint in Mehsana town in the state against four persons for outraging her modesty in January that year.
The accused were charged under sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) pertaining to outraging modesty and intentional insult, among others, but not under the POCSO Act despite the victim being 15 years of age when the crime took place.
The accused persons moved the high court seeking quashing and setting aside of proceedings arising out of the first information report (FIR), and also the order dated July 19, 2024 of the Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) court amending charges to include sections 11 and 12 of the POCSO Act.
While the court declined to quash the case, it permitted the petitioners to pursue the matter before the POCSO court at the time of further proceedings.
The court noted that when the investigation was carried out, the fact that the girl was 15 years of age at the time of the incident was nowhere referred to.
"Prima facie, it transpires that the investigating agency as well as prosecution and to some extent, the presiding officer have failed in discharging their duties in appropriate manner," the high court observed.
It further said that neither the investigating agency nor the prosecution made proper application of mind, causing the precious time of the investigating agency as well as the concerned court wasted from 2016 to 2024.
The court said it found no error by the concerned trial court in invoking the POCSO Act in the case, while allowing the petitioners to agitate at the time of further proceedings before the concerned POCSO court.
"It is also required to be noted that this is a glaring example that causal approach is adopted by the investigating agency and it has carried out investigation in a mechanical manner without properly applying its mind while carrying out investigation and at the time of filing of chargesheet," it said.
The court also directed the "concerned higher authorities" to look into the matter and do the needful "with a view to avoid repetition of such incidents and if required do the needful to carry out some exercise to find out if any similar incident/s is/are happening anywhere across the state".
It directed that the copy of the order be forwarded to the Director General of Police (DGP), Home Secretary, Law Secretary and the Registrar General of the High Court "for necessary consideration".
"It is expected that the petitioners, as such, are not at fault, and therefore, they can avail appropriate remedy in accordance with law," it added.
