4th Test: Kohli, Pujara propel India to 100/2 at lunch on Day 2
Southampton, Aug 31 : India rode an undefeated half century stand between skipper Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara to reach 100/2 after losing two early wickets in the morning session on Day 2 of the fouth Test against England at the Rose Bowl Cricket Ground here on Friday.
At the break, Pujara (28 batting) and Kohli (25 batting) went back undivided after pacer Stuart Broad had jolted the visitors with the wickets of the openers -- Lokesh Rahul (19) and Shikhar Dhawan (23), following a decent start.
Resuming the day at 19/0, the Indian openers played out the initial few overs watchfully, adding another 18 runs before Broad trapped Rahul to draw first blood for the hosts.
Joined by No.3 Pujara, Dhawan looked good during his brief stay, cutting and flashing three boundaries in no time before failing to control his instincts and offered a thick edge off a Broad delivery to be caught by Jos Buttler behind the stumps.
Reduced to 37/2, the onus of rebuilding the innings once again fell on Kohli and Pujara, and the right-handed duo did that in style with a solid batting effort, that saw them forge a 63-run unbeaten stand.
Meanwhile, Kohli also became the quickest Indian to enter the elite club of batsmen notching 6,000 Test runs. Earlier, Sunil Gavaskar had achieved the landmark in 117 innings, while the 29-year-old Kohli took two innings less to get to the feat.
Brief Scores: England 246 vs India 100/2 (Cheteshwar Pujara 28 bating, Virat Kohli 25 batting; Stuart Broad 2/34).
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Women BJP MLAs protest against opposition in UP assembly premises
Lucknow (PTI): Women BJP MLAs held a protest in the Vidhan Bhawan complex before the one-day special session of Uttar Pradesh assembly, slamming the opposition for defeating the passage of a bill, which would have led to implementation of the Women's Reservation Law, in the Lok Sabha.
This followed another demonstration by Samajwadi Party MLAs, who alleged that the BJP was misleading public in the name of women's reservation.
The women BJP legislators assembled in front of Chaudhary Charan Singh's statue in the assembly premises, holding banners inscribed with the slogan "Insult to Matrushakti (women's power), India will not tolerate it". The protesting members entered the main hall of Vidhan Bhawan carrying the banners.
Participating in the protest, the state Minister for Women Welfare and Child Development, Baby Rani Maurya, told reporters that all opposition parties, including the Samajwadi Party and the Congress, had opposed the women's reservation, a stance for which they would have to pay a heavy political price.
"On this issue, all of us women stand united. We will ensure that we secure our reservation," she said.
BJP MLA Ketki Singh remarked that their protest represents the collective outrage of millions of women across the state.
Singh asserted that the opposition has betrayed women by creating hurdles in the path of women's reservation. The current demonstration is merely the beginning, and very soon, women from every street, intersection and household will join the protest movement, she said.
Minister Vijaylakshmi Gautam said, "We strongly condemn the despicable act committed by the Samajwadi Party and the Congress in an attempt to hold back 'half the population' (women). Their action was directed against the very bill that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had introduced to empower and strengthen Nari Shakti (women's power), and which he strived to pass expeditiously."
Uttar Pradesh assembly is holding a one-day special session on Thursday. During the session, the government is set to move a censure motion against the opposition parties over their failure to pass the Constitution Amendment Bill, which would have led to implementation of the Women's Reservation Act, in the Lok Sabha.
