Bengaluru Test: Afghanistan in trouble after losing four quick wickets
Bengaluru, June 15: Afghanistan trumbled again on the second day of test match against India at Chinnaswamy stadium here on Friday.
Afghanistan were asked to follow on after they got all out for just 109 runs in their first innings. However, the team that is playing its first ever test match against India continued its poor performance with bat and lost four of its main batsmen for just 24 runs in their second innings.
Earlier, an excellent half century from all-rounder Hardik Pandya steered India to a commanding 474 even as Afghanistan managed to take the remaining four wickets on the second morning of the one-off Test here on Friday.
India managed to add 127 runs to their overnight total of 347/6, thanks to Pandya's (71) third Test half ton, and coupled with some cameos from the tailenders.
If statistics are to be taken into consideration, this is the third instance where a team has conceded more than 400 runs in their inaugural Test. Bangladesh (2000) and the West Indies (1928) are the other teams in the category.
Coming to the second morning of the ongoing Test, India lost overnight batsman Ravichandran Ashwin (18) on the eighth over of the day, after the off-spinner was caught behind off Yamin Ahmadzai.
Ashwin's dismissal brought in the dangerous Ravindra Jadeja (20), who was dropped first ball off an edge.
The southpaw did well to put that scare behind him and forged a valuable 67-run eighth wicket stand with Pandya, who took the attack to the opposition after a sluggish start.
Pandya picked wrist spinner Rashid Khan for some special treatment, whacking him to the boundary line thrice before sweeping Mohammed Nabi for a four to bring up his half century in 83 balls.
Jadeja also joined the party, smoking Nabi for a six over long-on before perishing to the same bowler when he attempted one over long-off, only for the ball to land in the hands of Rahmat Shah.
Pandya soon followed his partner to the pavilion after being cramped for room and failing to cut a short ball from Wafadar, which resulted in a simple catch for keeper Afsar Zazai.
The right-hander struck 10 fours in his 94-ball effort.
With the scoreboard reading 440/9, the hosts would have been more or less satisfied but number 11 Umesh Yadav (26 not out from 21 balls; 4x2, 6x2) had other plans.
Umesh entertained the Chinnaswamy crowd with some lusty blows, which included two massive sixes off Wafadar and more importantly, helped India cross the psychological mark of 450 runs.
Together with Ishant Sharma (8), Umesh added 34 runs for the 10th wicket before Rashid trapped Ishant, ending India's innings for 474.
For the visitors, pacer Yamin Ahmadzai was the pick of the bowlers with three wickets while fellow quick Wafadar and Rashid chipped in with two wickets each.
The other spinners Nabi and Mujeeb Ur Rahman chipped in with one wicket apiece.
Brief Scores: India 474 (Shikhar Dhawan 107, Murali Vijay 105, Hardik Pandya 71; Yamin Ahmadzai 3/51) vs Afghanistan.
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Rupee falls 5 paise to close at 89.94 against US dollar after RBI cuts repo rate
Mumbai (PTI): The rupee on Friday gave up its initial gains and settled for the day lower by 5 paise at 89.94 (provisional) against US dollar, after the Reserve Bank cut key benchmark interest rate for the first time in six months.
Forex traders said the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) rate cut will weigh on the rupee, but RBI's decision to purchase government bonds worth up to Rs 1 lakh crore through open market operations (OMO), combined with a USD 5 billion buy-sell swap, will support the local currency.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 89.85 against the US dollar and gained ground, touching 89.69 in morning deals, registering a 20-paise gain from its previous close.
After the RBI's monetary policy announcement, the rupee lost ground and fell to 90.06 against the American currency, a 16-paise decline from its previous close of 89.89. The currency is down almost 5 per cent against the dollar this year, the worst performer in Asia.
The local unit finally settled for the day lower by 5 paise at 89.94 (provisional) against the American currency.
"Beyond the rate cut, RBI's decision to purchase government bonds worth up to Rs 1 lakh crore through OMO, combined with a USD 5 billion buy-sell swap, marks a decisive effort to restore durable liquidity and stabilize currency markets after the rupee's sharp depreciation," said Sachin Bajaj, Executive Vice President & Chief Investment Officer, Axis Max Life Insurance.
The RBI on Friday cut the key benchmark interest rate for the first time in six months and took steps to boost liquidity to support a "goldilocks" economy amid high US tariffs.
Reserve Bank Governor Sanjay Malhotra said the central bank does not target any band for the rupee in the forex market, and allows the domestic currency to find its own correct level.
"We don't target any price levels or any bands. We allow the markets to determine the prices. We believe that markets, especially in the long run, are very efficient. It's a very deep market," he said while replying to a question on rupee depreciation at a post-monetary policy press meet.
Malhotra said fluctuations in the market keep occurring, and the RBI's effort is always to reduce any abnormal or excessive volatility. "And that is what we will continue to endeavour," he added.
In its bi-monthly monetary policy, the RBI announced three-year USD/INR Buy Sell swaps of USD 5 billion this month. When asked if this is aimed at checking rupee depreciation, Malhotra said, "It is a liquidity measure. It is not to support the rupee".
The governor further said the country has sufficient foreign exchange reserves and that the current account is manageable, and that, given the strong fundamentals of the economy, the country should witness strong capital flows going forward.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.03 per cent lower at 98.96.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.02 per cent to USD 63.27 per barrel in futures trade.
On the domestic equity market front, Sensex jumped 447.05 points to settle at 85,712.37, while the Nifty climbed 152.70 points to 26,186.45.
Foreign institutional investors sold equities worth Rs 1,944.19 crore on a net basis on Thursday, according to exchange data.
