2nd Test Day 1: India 16/1 at Stumps, Rohit out for nought; New Zealand 259 all out
Pune, Oct 24: All-rounder Washington Sundar justified his selection with a career-best 7/59 to help India bowl out New Zealand for 259, but the hosts lost skipper Rohit Sharma early in their first innings when stumps were drawn on day of the second Test, here on Thursday.
India crawled to 16 for one in 11 overs with Yashasvi Jaiswal (6 not out) and Shubman Gill (10 not out) at the crease, trailing by another 243 runs in the first innings.
Tim Southee cleaned up Rohit for a nine-ball duck, forcing the hosts to be extra cautious with the debacle of first innings in the Bengaluru Test still fresh in the mind.
Rohit, who was cleaned up for the third time in the series and for the second time by Southee, was squared up as he looked to defend in the line of the delivery but the ball moved away to beat his outside edge and crash into the off-stump.
Southee thus became the first among fast bowlers to take a wicket in this Test after a dominating show by the Indian spin duo of Sundar and R Ashwin (3/64), who did not allow New Zealand to break free.
The 25-year-old Sundar, playing his first Test for India since March, 2021, ran through New Zealand after Ashwin claimed the first three wickets in the innings to move past his Australian peer Nathan Lyon in the list of highest wicket-takers in Tests.
Ashwin began by trapping New Zealand captain Tom Latham (15) in front of the wickets and getting Will Young (18) caught behind in the first session, while Sundar took the centrestage towards the end of the second.
While he was measly to begin with as New Zealand batters looked to consolidate, Sundar reaped rich dividends for his perseverance.
He swung the momentum in India's favour with two late wickets in the second session, including the in-form Rachin Ravindra, as New Zealand stumbled to 201/5 at tea.
Ravindra's dismissal close to the tea break proved instrumental as New Zealand could never recover from the blow and folded in the final session without much resistance.
The young batter looked primed for another big knock but Sundar's brilliance stopped him in his tracks.
Of his seven dismissals in an outstanding spell on a day one wicket, Sundar showed mastery in hitting the off-stump to snare five of his victims bowled, one pinned in front of the wickets while the other caught by fellow tweaker Ashwin.
Among those who were cleaned up by the Indian spinner were Ravindra, Tom Blundell (3), Mitchell Santner (33), Tim Southee (5) and Ajaz Patel (4).
The highlight, however, was the manner in which he cleaned up the in-form Ravindra, who looked good after his efforts of 134 and 39 not out in New Zealand's eight-wicket win in the opening Test.
Sundar pitched the ball just perfectly to have it spinning away from Ravindra's bat and crash into the off-stump, beating the in-form batter fair and square who had otherwise struck a perfect balance in attack and defence.
At the top, Conway managed 76 from 141 balls with 11 fours but he was among Ashwin's three wickets at the top.
The Kiwis' opener used his reverse sweeps against the spinners and drives down the wicket against the Indian pacers to good effect to accumulate his runs, but he had only himself to blame for missing out on scoring a century again.
On an innocuous delivery outside off, Conway went for a stroke but got an edge to be caught behind off Ashwin.
New Zealand's woes compounded when off-colour batters in skipper Latham and Mitchell continued to struggle for runs despite spending considerable time in the middle.
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Justice Sanjiv Khanna appointed next CJI, oath on Nov 11
New Delhi, Oct 24: Justice Sanjiv Khanna was on Thursday appointed the 51st Chief Justice of India.
He will take oath on November 11, a day after incumbent Justice D Y Chandrachud demits office on attaining the age of 65.
Justice Chandrachud took over as the CJI on November 8, 2022.
Justice Khanna will have a tenure of a little over six months as CJI and would demit office on May 13, 2025.
"In exercise of the power conferred by the Constitution of India, Hon'ble President, after consultation with Hon'ble Chief Justice of India, is pleased to appoint Shri Justice Sanjiv Khanna, Judge of the Supreme Court of India as Chief Justice of India with effect from 11th November, 2024," Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal posted on X.
Justice Khanna was appointed an additional judge of the Delhi High Court in 2005 and was made a permanent judge in 2006. On January 18, 2019, he was elevated as a judge of the Supreme Court.
Born on May 14, 1960, he studied law at the Campus Law Centre of Delhi University.
Some of the notable judgments of Justice Khanna in the Supreme Court include upholding the use of electronic voting machines in elections, saying the devices were secure and eliminated booth capturing and bogus voting.
He was also part of the five-judge bench that declared the electoral bond scheme, meant for funding of political parties, as unconstitutional.
Justice Khanna was a part of the five-judge bench, which upheld the Centre's 2019 decision abrogating Article 370 of the Constitution which granted a special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir.
Justice Khanna, who is the senior-most judge after the outgoing CJI, and the executive chairman of the National Legal Service Authority (NALSA), had granted interim bail to the then Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, an accused in the alleged Delhi excise policy scam cases, for campaigning in Lok Sabha elections.
He is the nephew of former apex court judge H R Khanna, who was part of the landmark verdict propounding the basic structure doctrine in Kesavananda Bharati case of 1973.
The retirement age of Supreme Court judges is 65 years, while high court judges demit office at the age of 62 years.
The Centre recently asked CJI Chandrachud to name his successor.
According to the memorandum of procedure (MoP) -- a set of documents guiding appointment, elevation and transfer of high court and Supreme Court judges -- the law minister writes to the CJI to name his or her successor.
Law Minister Meghwal had written to CJI Chandrachud asking him to name his successor.
The MoP says the senior-most judge of the apex court is considered fit to hold the office of the CJI and the views of the outgoing head of the judiciary have to be sought "at an appropriate time".
The MoP, however, does not specify the time limit for the initiation of the process of recommending the name of the successor CJI.
In exercise of the power conferred by the Constitution of India, Hon’ble President, after consultation with Hon’ble Chief Justice of India, is pleased to appoint Shri Justice Sanjiv Khanna, Judge of the Supreme Court of India as Chief Justice of India with effect from 11th…
— Arjun Ram Meghwal (@arjunrammeghwal) October 24, 2024
