Day 4: Kohli slams 186, India ahead by 88 runs in fourth Test against Australia
Ahmedabad, Mar 12: India's batting mainstay Virat Kohli finally ended a near 40-month wait for his 28th Test hundred as his scrappy but brilliantly effective 186 set up a gripping final day of the fourth Test against Australia here on Sunday.
Kohli's epic knock helped India amass 571 in response to Australia's first innings score of 480.
With a lead of 91 runs, India had a go at Australia in the six overs before stumps but visitors managed to keep all wickets intact.
With a lead of 88 at close, India will have to go for the jugular on day five on a track where there is finally some turn and bounce on offer but not something that batters can't tackle.
A draw still looks the most likely result but if any team wins the Test from here, it will be India, who would then go on to win the series 3-1 and directly qualify for the World Test Championship final, without having to wait on the fate of Sri Lanka's Test series versus New Zealand.
For the 15,000 odd people present at Motera, it was a Sunday to remember as Kohli guided Nathan Lyon towards mid-wicket to complete his first Test hundred since November 2019. The hundred, his 75th in international cricket, came off 241 balls.
The celebrations were muted as there was still some way to go before India would be in driver's seat and hence he didn't want to lose focus by getting elated. There was a smile of satisfaction and a now familiar kiss on his engagement ring.
It was an innings of different character from Kohli. Having had his troubles dealing with deliveries outside the off-stump, he traded caution in exchange of flair and hardly played those beastly cover drives till he reached his hundred.
There were shades of Sachin Tendulkar's 241 at Sydney in 2004 in this innings of Kohli's, when one compares the sheer discipline of the two knocks.
Kohli showed copious amount of patience on way to a gritty hundred before changing gears.
A supremely fit athlete, Kohli ran 84 singles, 18 doubles and twice he took three runs, including once when he was batting in his 160s.
By sheer volume of running between the wickets, he collected 126 of his 186 runs with 15 hits to the fence.
Wife Anushka Sharma put up an Instagram post which informed that Kohli showed this enormous composure despite being "sick".
It was pity that Shreyas Iyer couldn't turn up for batting due to recurring back pain and Kohli was the ninth and last Indian man to be dismissed after his 364 ball knock that spanned over 8 hours and 36 minutes. No one deserved those 14 runs more than him.
As he dragged his tired body towards the pavilion, rival skipper Steve Smith and bowler Todd Murphy along with other Aussie players came to shake his hands and the crowd near dressing room gave a standing ovation.
He did have some significant partnerships but no better than the 162 that he added for the sixth wicket with an ever- improving Axar Patel (79 off 113 balls).
Never had Kohli shown determination of this kind and a testimony to that was not being impatient for a boundary for 162 balls. In fact, in the first session, he couldn't add to his overnight five hits to the fence.
He decided to complete the coveted ton in singles and doubles and then hit 10 boundaries in his next 86 runs.
The first expansive cover drive only came in his 140s off Cameron Green.
That the track was good for batting was evident from the fact that all partnerships for the first six wickets was worth more than 50 runs.
Australian bowlers though had a good morning session as India managed only 73 in the 32 overs that were sent down.
Kona Bharat (44, 88 balls), who has had a dreadful run with the bat, looked impressive as he hit three sixes in his innings but would curse himself for not getting a big one and cementing his place in the Indian team.
In the post lunch session, it was Bharat who attacked, pulled and hooked Cameron Green for a couple of sixes when he tried bouncing the batter from around the wicket.
His best shot was slog swept six off Nathan Lyon over cow corner but he would rue his luck after being out to a bat-pad catch at short-leg off Lyon's bowling.
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T'gana RTC strike: Talks between govt, employees successful
Hyderabad (PTI): Talks between employees of Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (RTC) who were on strike and the state government concluded successfully on Friday as the government agreed to the key demands of the workmen.
Following a day-long marathon of talks between the leaders of the employees' Joint Action Committee (JAC) and the cabinet sub-committee, the government announced after midnight that it acceded to the demands, including a merger of RTC with the government, 11 per cent pay revision and elections to the employees' unions.
A committee comprising officials and employee leaders would be appointed over the merger of RTC with the government, it said.
The RTC management has also agreed to address the remaining issues as well, an official release said.
The employees would call off their strike and the RTC buses would hit the roads shortly, it said.
The employees had been on an indefinite strike since April 22 over a series of demands, including the merger of RTC with the government.
Earlier in the day, a driver of the RTC, who attempted suicide on April 23 during the strike, died at a hospital here in the early hours of Friday.
Shankar Goud, a 55-year-old driver, set himself ablaze by pouring petrol at Narsampet in Warangal district when the employees were staging a protest on Thursday in support of their demands.
Goud suffered serious burns, was initially admitted to a state-run hospital in Warangal, and later shifted to a super-speciality hospital in Hyderabad for advanced treatment.
"He succumbed (to injuries) at about 1.30 am on Friday," a senior official said.
The driver’s body was taken to his relative’s village, Muttojipet in Warangal district, for funeral rites.
Tension prevailed in Muttojipet as his family members and RTC employees attempted to take the body to the Narsampet bus station, where he worked, to enable his colleagues to pay their last respects. However, police did not permit this, citing law-and-order concerns.
This led to a deadlock before the funeral could proceed.
Union Minister Bandi Sanjay Kumar criticised the Telangana government for not allowing the body to be taken to the Narsampet bus station.
Kumar, Minister of State (Home), visited Muttojipet village in Warangal district, where the funeral was held, and paid homage to Goud.
“They (family members) want to take the body to the bus depot for five minutes. Is the RTC bus depot in Pakistan or Bangladesh? They are emotionally attached to taking the body there. The government is hurting sentiments and creating fear among RTC employees,” Kumar told reporters.
He also expressed anger at the police for not allowing the body to be taken to the bus station and staged a protest, according to a release from his office.
RTC employees and BJP workers attempted to take the mortal remains in an ambulance to Narsampet, but were stopped by the police.
Later, after discussions with the police, the family members and RTC employees agreed to conduct the funeral in the village.
Sanjay Kumar, stating he would abide by the family’s decision, left the village after the funeral was conducted there.
Transport Minister Ponnam Prabhakar said an ex gratia of Rs 10 lakh, a house, and a government job would be provided to the kin of Goud.
Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy expressed shock over the employee’s death and conveyed deep condolences to the grieving family, according to the release.
The RTC employees’ JAC had earlier announced an agitation programme from April 24 to 29, including silent marches and submission of memorandums to MLAs and other leaders.
