Day 1: Mayank Agarwal makes statement with hundred as India score 221/4 at stumps
Mumbai, Dec 3: Under pressure to prove his worth, Mayank Agarwal made the best statement possible with a superb hundred as India recovered from a sudden top-order collapse to reach 221 for 4 in two extended opening day sessions against New Zealand in the second Test here on Friday.
Agarwal (120 batting, 246 balls), who is all but certain to sit out once Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul come back during the next series (if South Africa then away, if West Indies then home), added to a happy headache for coach Rahul Dravid, on a day when vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane had to be "dropped" because of a hamstring niggle.
Worse, Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli failed to trouble the scorers and it was a hundred that came under pressure with India being 80 for 3 and 160 for 4 at different stages of the game.
Had the Indian team management been forced to play Rahane, the axe was likely to fall on Agarwal and it's never a great feeling to go out there in such a situation.
He was jittery to begin with as a streaky boundary through slips came early on but once he marched down the track to loft Ajaz Patel (29-10-73-4) for a straight six, his nerves had all but vanished.
The boundaries --- 14 in all and four sixes, all off Patel showed his class as he got his fourth hundred in Tests.
In fact, Patel, who was by far the best New Zealand bowler in view, having reduced India from 80 for no loss to 80 for three, did look pedestrian in front of Agarwal at times.
When an airborne Agarwal punched the air after a square driven boundary off part-time seamer Daryl Mitchell, one could sense that pressure weighing a thousand tonne must have come off his chest.
Agarwal was the first choice opener during the England series but before the first game, he got hit on the head and KL Rahul coming in his place, grabbed the opportunity with both hands.
With Rohit also having his best overseas series as Test opener, Agarwal was confined to the reserves.
He could again be back in the reserves but he made a statement of intent with his strokeplay as he dominated the 80-run fourth wicket stand with Shreyas Iyer (18).
Along with another reserve player in Wriddhiman Saha (25 batting, 53 balls), Agarwal added another 61 runs before the close of play.
New Zealand had erred in not playing Neil Wagner on a track where there was a lot of bounce on offer.
If Agarwal showed discretion, same couldn't be said about Shubman Gill (44, 71 balls), who was dazzling till he was around in their 80-run opening stand before Patel snuffed him out.
Gill looked fluent before paying for his impetuosity which led to a mini collapse.
Mumbai-born left-arm spinner Patel also picked up Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli in quick succession with both failing to trouble the scorers.
Patel became the second Mumbai-born cricketer after legendary England captain Douglas Jardine to play against India in his city of birth.
He altered the length cleverly and the extra bounce, which is always a speciality of Wankhede, helped him immensely.
He had Gill on the mat when he flighted one to entice him to come out and the ball tuned and jumped with keeper Tom Blundell making a hash of a stumping.
However, the very next ball saw him shorten the length as Gill tried jabbing at it and it turned enough to take the outside edge into Ross Taylor's palms.
Pujara's confidence has hit nadir after too many failures and he survived a DRS appeal from New Zealand before he jumped down the track to york himself. Patel, very wisely, fired one with an angle straight into his toes and what happened with Pujara often happens with out-of-form batters.
For skipper Kohli, it was a delivery that straightened after pitching as the Indian skipper tried to play a forward defensive stroke. Straight umpire Anil Chaudhary gave him out and Kohli immediately asked for a review.
The replay was inconclusive on whether it hit the bat first or pad and as per rule, TV umpire Virender Sharma went with his on-field colleague, leaving Kohli absolutely livid.
He had a word with leg umpire Nitin Menon and was seen expressing his displeasure.
The TV cameras then caught him standing in the dressing room balcony, visibly upset with the decision, which was a touch and go one.
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Karnataka Assembly passes bill on Palace Grounds amid opposition protest
Bengaluru, Mar 6 (PTI): The Karnataka Assembly on Thursday passed the Bangalore Palace (Utilisation and Regulation of Land) Bill, reaffirming state ownership over 472 acres and 16 guntas of land here, amid protests by the opposition BJP.
During the discussion, Karnataka Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil said the state government would have to provide Rs 200 crore worth of Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) for each acre of land, which means that for 15 acres, Rs 3,000 crore worth of TDR would be issued.
“If we accept it, then this 2-km stretch of road will become the costliest road in the world. If we accept it then how are we going to develop the city in later stages? How will you carry out development works?” asked Patil.
He also pointed out that this question was raised not only under the Congress government but also during the previous BJP regime.
However, the BJP-led cabinet has opposed the project.
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“Suppose we agree to it then, what will be the valuation of the 472 acres? It will be lakhs and lakhs of crores of rupees. Can we accept?” Patil wondered.
The Minister said the government had previously exercised its executive powers to issue an ordinance, which was approved by the Governor. Now the government is bringing a bill with two amendments.
“In this bill, we have made provisions either to develop or drop the road development work,” Patil explained.
However, BJP state president B Y Vijayendra and BJP MLA Arvind Bellad opposed the move, alleging that the government was targetting Yaduveer Krishna Datta Chamaraja Wadiyar, the scion of the Mysuru royal family, and the BJP MP from Mysuru-Kodagu constituency out of political vendetta.
“We talk of 472 acres of Mysuru Maharaja but here there are many Maharajas who too own 400 acres, 500 acres and thousands of acres of land, which is known to everyone,” Bellad said.
He slammed the Congress government, saying political power should not be misused for personal vendetta.
“Why (the then Deputy Chief Minister) Siddaramaiah brought the law in 1996 pertaining to the Bangalore Palace? Why are you setting eyes on the Bangalore Palace?” he asked.
Vijayendra charged that Wadiyar won the election on BJP ticket so the state government realised that it should acquire it.
“This bill has been brought for political vengeance. We are not discussing whether Rs 3,000 crore is exorbitant or not but the moment Yaduveer became MP, the state government woke up. You should be ashamed. This house should not be used for political vendetta,” he said.
Intervening, Minister Priyank Kharge said Vijayendra should not have raised it because the intention behind building the road was noble.
According to him, the BJP too had the same plan when it was in power.
He sought to know whether thousands of crores of rupees be spent on a road which should have cost significantly less.
In response, BJP MLA B A Basavaraj (Byrathi) said issuing TDR will not be a burden on the state government and appealed to the ruling Congress to reconsider its stance.
Minister Ramalinga Reddy too explained that the Karnataka government acquired the entire land way back in 1996.
The Mysuru royal family went to the High Court, which gave ruling in favour of the state government. The royal family then approached the Supreme Court, where the case is still going on, the Minister pointed out.
“The final judgment is pending in the SC to decide whether the acquisition was right or wrong. If the SC says it’s the royal family’s property then let it be so. If the order is in the state government’s favour then we can take a decision. The bill is only about it,” Reddy explained.
Speaker U T Khader then called for a voice vote and the bill was passed by the Assembly amidst opposition BJP’s discontent.
