Cautious Kohli unbeaten on 88 as India reach 362 for 4 at lunch
Ahmedabad (PTI): Virat Kohli sedately inched towards his first Test hundred since November 2019 as India reached 362 for four at lunch on day four of the fourth Test against Australia here on Sunday.
The pitch hasn't been easy for scoring with only 73 runs scored off 32 overs in the morning session.
Kohli (88 batting) added 29 runs to his overnight score of 59 not out with India still 118 runs behind Australia's first innings score of 480.
With Shreyas Iyer unlikely to bat due to recurrence of a lower back injury, Kona Bharat was promoted up the order and he did his case no harm with an unbeaten 25 off 70 balls.
The wicket-keeper also shared an unbroken 53-run stand with the former India captain.
Bharat, in fact, played the best shot of the morning, a slog sweep over cow corner off Nathan Lyon for a six.
The only wicket that India lost during the session was of Ravindra Jadeja (28 off 84 balls), who failed to clear Usman Khawaja at mid-on off Todd Murphy (2/64 in 32 overs).
Kohli has put his head down during his 220-ball knock and it did allow the Australians to control the proceedings on a slow deck. The only time he got closest to hitting a boundary was a flick through mid-wicket off Cameron Green but Mitchell Starc cut it down to three runs.
He was then happy getting the occasional single and double to keep the scoreboard moving.
Bharat, who has had a wretched time with the bat in the series so far, did look way more confident on a flat track and was more assured in his defence.
He put a big stride forward to negate the little bit of turn that was on offer for the Australian spinners.
The only one who got a couple of deliveries to break back sharply was Lyon (1/99 in 49 overs).
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.
India & Israel elevate ties to special strategic partnership, vow to soon conclude free trade deal
Jerusalem (PTI): India and Israel on Thursday elevated their "time-tested" relationship to a special strategic partnership and agreed to soon firm up a "mutually beneficial" free trade deal even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi strongly backed the Gaza peace initiative, asserting that humanity must never become a victim of conflict.
Following talks between Modi and his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu, the two sides inked a plethora of agreements to expand cooperation in areas of trade, agriculture, energy, cyberspace and digital payment.
India and Israel also vowed to expand their already close defence partnership by working towards joint development and joint production of military hardware under the framework of the transfer of technologies.
In his media statement, Modi said India's security interest is linked to peace and stability in the Middle East, adding that New Delhi fully supports the Gaza Peace Initiative.
"India's stance is clear: humanity must never become a victim of conflict. A path to peace has been created through the Gaza Peace Plan. India has fully supported these efforts," he said.
"In the future as well, we will continue dialogue and cooperation with all countries," he said.
PM Modi landed in Israel on Wednesday on a two-day visit. It is his second visit to Israel in nine years.
In his remarks, the prime minister said India and Israel have a united view that there is no place for terrorism in the world and both sides stand shoulder-to-shoulder in countering terrorism and its supporters.
"Our relationship is founded on the strong bedrock of deep trust, shared democratic values, and human sensitivities. Our bond has stood the test of every trial of time," he said.
"Today, we have taken the historic decision to elevate our time-tested partnership to the status of a 'Special Strategic Partnership'," he said.
The prime minister also announced the establishment of an India-Israel critical and emerging technologies partnership to impart a new momentum for cooperation in areas of artificial intelligence, quantum, and critical minerals. "I am pleased that an agreement has been reached for the use of UPI in Israel," he said.
The prime minister, referring to the threat of terrorism, said India and Israel will continue to confront the menace unitedly.
"India and Israel are completely clear that there is no place for terrorism in the world. In any form, in any expression, terrorism cannot be accepted," he said.
"We have stood shoulder-to-shoulder in opposing terrorism and its supporters, and we will continue to do so," he added.
India and Israel also discussed the implementation of the India-Middle East Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) and cooperation under the framework of I2U2 (India-Israel-UAE-USA).
