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).
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Brazil's Ancelotti raises doubts about whether Neymar will reach the 2026 World Cup
Sao Paulo (AP): Brazil coach Carlo Ancelotti raised doubts about whether Neymar will be in his squad for the 2026 World Cup. The Italian has yet to pick the former captain since he took over in May.
“If Neymar deserves to be (in the squad), if he is, well, better than others, he will play in the World Cup and that's it. (But) I don't have debts to anyone,” Ancelotti said at a press conference in Washington on Friday following the draw.
Brazil is in Group C with Morocco, Haiti and Scotland.
“If we speak about Neymar, we have to speak about other players,” Ancelotti added. “We have to think about Brazil with or without Neymar, with or without other players. Our final list we will make after the FIFA fixtures in March.”
The 33-year-old Neymar has never fully recovered from a torn ACL in October 2023 during a World Cup qualifier against Uruguay. But he's been key for Santos in its fight to avoid relegation in the Brazilian championship.
On Wednesday, he scored a hat trick for Santos despite a muscular injury. He is expected to play again on Sunday against Cruzeiro.
Ancelotti said Brazil does not have a “referential player” at the moment, a tag for the most valuable player that Neymar has mainly worn since the 2014 home World Cup.
“We have one of the world's best goalkeepers, some of the best defenders, top midfielders and some players up front. I don't want players who want to be the best in the world, I want players who want to win the World Cup,” Ancelotti said.
Asked about his team's group, Ancelotti said Brazil can top it.
“We can win all three matches, our idea is very clear. We need to be competitive during the entire World Cup. Our goal is to play in the final and for that to happen you need to face very strong teams anyway.”
Brazil won the last of its five World Cup trophies in 2002.
_vb_69.jpeg)
