1st T20I: Jadeja's onslaught takes India to 161 for 7 vs Australia
Canberra, Dec 4: KL Rahul continued his impressive run in the shortest format with yet another fifty but it took Ravindra Jadeja's brilliant back-end flourish to take India to a fighting 161 for 7 against Australia in the first T20 International here on Friday.
The Indian vice-captain hit 51 off 40 balls but leg-spinner Adam Zampa (1/20 in 4 overs) and all-rounder Moises Henriques (3/22 in 4 overs) were brilliant between overs 11th and 15th, which shifted the momentum in favour of the home team till Jadeja came into play with a 44 not out off 23 balls.
During 11th and 15th over, India scored 22 runs and lost three wickets in Sanju Samson (23 off 15 balls), Manish Pandey (2 off 8 balls) and Rahul.
However, Jadeja (five fours and a six), who suffered from hamstring trouble, launched into Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc in the final two overs that yielded 34 runs taking Indian to a par-score at the Manuka Oval.
The Indians found Zampa difficult to get away as he conceded only one boundary while Henriques conceded just a six, cleverly varying the pace of his deliveries with a good mix of cutters and seam-up stuff.
Rahul, who hit five fours and a six, along with Samson and the dangerous Hardik Pandya (16 off 15 balls) were deceived by the pace of pitch where driving on the up wasn't an easy job.
Mitchell Starc (2/34) was also quick and incisive at the start but got hit during the death overs.
Four days of rest had done Starc a world of good as he found both his length and swing back at the start. At a scorching 145 clicks, he bowled one that shaped away from Shikhar Dhawan starting on middle-stump and knocking the off-stump back.
Rahul's first boundary was a mis-hit off Hazlewood over third-man, followed by a cover drive off Zampa.
Another streaky boundary off Sean Abbott was topped up by a regal pull-shot into the mid-wicket stands.
Inexperienced leg spinner Mitchell Swepson (1/21 in 2 overs) repeatedly bowled short but did snap a prized catch in rival skipper Virat Kohli (9) when a ball stopped on him and the result was a return catch off a leading edge.
But Rahul punished him and so did Samson, who rocked back to hit him for a six. Rahul's half century came off 37 deliveries.
However, as has been Samson's trait, he perished when Henriques bowled an off-cutter and the uppish cover drive. He was pouched by Swepson and India's innings went down south from that moment before Jadeja partially redeemed it.
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Akhilesh accuses Adityanath government of indulging in large-scale mining in Chambal ravines
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Lucknow (PTI): Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday alleged large-scale illegal mining and environmental destruction in the Chambal ravines in Etawah, accusing UP government-led officials of facilitating the disappearance of entire hills.
In a strongly worded post on X, Yadav questioned whether the small and large hills near the historic Sumer Singh Fort had been "transferred" to regions like Basti and Gorakhpur in collusion with lower and higher-ranking officials.
He shared a video clip showing what appeared to be a partially flattened landscape where hills once stood.
"New officials may come and go," Yadav wrote, "but the hills of Chambal that were hacked away and vanished with the spade of corruption and divided through collusion'how will those return?"
The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister added, "Paryavaran kahe aaj ka, nahi chahiye BJP (In the name of today's environment, we do not need the BJP)!"
