Cheteshwar Pujara misses out on hundred as India score 278/6 on Day 1
Chattogram, Dec 14: Cheteshwar Pujara injected a fresh lease of life into his uncertain international future with a dogged 90 while Shreyas Iyer enjoyed a reprieve to remain unbeaten on 82 in India's underwhelming opening day score of 278/6 against Bangladesh in the first Test.
Pujara missed out on a Test hundred as he was bowled neck and crop by a beauty from left-arm spinner Taijul Islam (3/84) but not before seeing India out of danger with a 149-run fifth-wicket stand with Iyer.
Mehidy Hasan Miraz (2/71) dismissed Axar Patel off the last delivery of the day to wrest the initiative back for the hosts who would like to restrict India around a total of 300 runs on a track that wasn't bad for batting.
Credit should also be given to Rishabh Pant (46 off 45 balls) whose counter-attacking knock was of immense value as he was the first one to hold the opposition by the scruff of its neck after skipper KL Rahul (22), Shubman Gill (20) and Virat Kohli (1) were dismissed cheaply within the first 90 minutes of play.
Till Pant was at the crease, it seemed like he was batting on a different track.
Honours were shared on the opening day with Islam emerging as the hero for Bangladesh and showing he has the potential to come out of the shadows of his more illustrious skipper Shakib Al Hasan.
He bowled a couple of classical left-arm spinner's deliveries to get rid of Kohli in the first hour and Pujara in the final half hour to negate the advantage that India had gained after the fall of three wickets.
In case of Kohli, he tossed it up and bowled a fuller length as the batter went on the back-foot. The ball turned enough to hit him on the back-pad.
If Kohli ended up being plumb in front on the back-foot, Pujara presented a dead defence on the front-foot and saw the ball beat the outside edge of his bat to hit the off-stick.
Iyer, for one, was lucky when he was beaten through the gate by Ebadot Hossain and the ball hit the stumps with the bail being disturbed from its groove but didn't fall.
While Pujara had 11 fours to his credit, Iyer has 10 hits to the fence so far. But overall, the batting performance left a lot to be desired.
It was Pant who showed the much-needed aggression, hitting six fours and two sixes in his knock as he along with Pujara (42 not out) added 64 runs after India were reduced to 48 for 3 in the 20th over.
India expectedly opted to bat but squandered the opportunity by allowing the Bangladesh bowlers to dominate the proceedings.
The aggressive approach that Rahul spoke about ahead of the game was missing in the first session.
Spin was introduced as early as in the sixth over and Rahul greeted his counterpart Shakib Al Hasan with a cut through the point region.
Gill too showed intent with a cut and pull off pacer Hossain in the following over as India reached 30 for no loss in seven overs.
However, the boundaries dried up thereafter as Bangladesh bowlers stuck to stump-to-stump line and stifled the Indians.
Gill perished to a poor shot, an avoidable sweep, while Rahul played away from his body off pacer Khaled Ahmed only to drag it back on to the stumps.
The top-order batters could have used their feet more against the spinners but preferred to stay back in the crease.
The much-needed attacking approach was displayed once again by Pant who put the pressure back on Islam by smashing him for a couple of fours and a six over wide long-on.
Pant welcomed offie Miraz with a square cut while Islam conceded two boundaries in the last over of the morning session.
Pujara should have been dismissed very early in the second session but Nurul Hasan couldn't hold on to the rare opportunity in the 27th over off Hossain.
Pant continued to look for quick runs and hammered Miraz and Hossain for two more boundaries. The keeper-batter also clobbered Miraz over deep midwicket for a maximum but the spinner had the last laugh as he cleaned him up next ball in the 32nd over.
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Correspondents' dinner firing: World leaders say political violence has no place in democracy
Washington (PTI): World leaders expressed relief that US President Donald Trump, First Lady Melania and other guests were unharmed after a shooting incident at the White House Correspondents' dinner here on Saturday night and asserted that political violence has no place in a democracy.
Reacting to the incident, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was relieved that President Trump, First Lady Melania and Vice President J D Vance were safe and unharmed after a security incident at the White House Correspondents' dinner in Washington.
Modi said violence has no place in democracy and must be unequivocally condemned.
"Relieved to learn that President Trump, the First Lady and Vice President are safe and unharmed following the recent security incident at a Washington DC hotel. I extend my best wishes for their continued safety and well-being. Violence has no place in a democracy and must be unequivocally condemned," Modi said in a post on X.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who has had frequent run-ins with Trump, described the shooting incident at the Washington Hilton hotel as a “disturbing event”.
“I am relieved that the President, the First Lady, and all guests are safe following reports of gunfire at the White House correspondents’ dinner in Washington tonight. Political violence has no place in any democracy, and my thoughts are with all those who have been shaken by this disturbing event,” Carney said in a post on X.
President of the Republic of Korea, Lee Jae Myung asserted that political violence “can never be justified under any circumstances.”
“The Government of the Republic of Korea firmly opposes all forms of violence and extremism that erode the values of democracy and the rule of law,” he said in a social media post.
Prime Minister of Japan Sanae Takaichi said, “Violence must never be tolerated anywhere in the world”
“I am relieved to hear that President Trump is safe following the terrifying gunfire. Violence must never be tolerated anywhere in the world,” she posted on social media.
Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu called the incident “an attack on all the democracies.”
"This wasn't just an attack on Donald Trump. This was an attack on a candidate for the presidency of the United States. This was an attack on America. It was an attack on democracy, it was an attack on all the democracies,” he posted on social media.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said it was “good that President Trump and his wife are safe following the recent events”.
“We send them our respect. Violence must never be the way,” she said.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he was pleased to hear all attendees were safe. “We applaud the work of the Secret Service and law enforcement agencies for their swift action,” he said in a statement.
Delcy Rodriguez, the acting President of Venezuela following the capture of Nicolas Maduro by US forces, condemned the attack against Trump.
"We extend our best wishes to them and to all attendees of the Correspondent’s dinner. Violence is never an option for those who uphold the values of peace," she wrote on X.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also took to social media to condemn the incident, stating he was "deeply shocked" to hear the news.
"Relieved to know that President Trump, the First Lady, and other attendees are safe," Sharif said.
Trump has survived two assassination attempts over the past two years – first at a presidential election campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024, and later in Palm Beach, Florida, on September 15, 2024.
