Day/Night Test, Day 1: England crumble to 112 in first innings
Ahmedabad, Feb 24: England collapsed to 112 in their first innings with Indian left-arm spinner Axar Patel snaring six wickets on the first day of the day-night third Test here on Wednesday.
Opting to bat after winning a crucial toss, Joe Root's men once again looked clueless against the in-form spin combination of Patel and Ravichandran Ashwin.
The visitors lost four wickets in the opening session before unravelling completely in the second.
While Patel picked up for 6/38 in 21.4 overs, Ashwin returned figures of 3/26.
Veteran pacer Ishant Sharma, who is playing in his 100th Test, also chipped in with one wicket.
Opener Zak Crawley was England's top scorer with a breezy 53-run knock that came off 84 balls before he was trapped LBW by Patel. Crawley's impressive stay at crease included 10 fours.
Skipper Joe Root's 17 was the only other notable contribution in the below-par total.
The series is currently tied 1-1 after England triumphed in the opener and India claimed the honours in the second game.
Brief Scores:
England 1st Innings: 112 all out in 48.4 overs (Zak Crawley 53, Joe Root 17, Axar Patel 6/38, Ravichandran Ashwin 3/26, Ishant Sharma 1/26).
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.
IndiGo cancels over 60 flights from Bengaluru despite CEO claiming operations stable
Mumbai (PT): IndiGo on Wednesday cancelled over 60 flights from Bengaluru Airport, despite Chief Executive Officer Pieter Elbers claiming on December 9 that the airline's operations were back on track.
IndiGo has cancelled 61 flights on Wednesday, including 35 arrivals and 26 departures, a source said.
On Tuesday, after the government slashed IndiGo's winter flight schedule by 10 per cent or around 220 flights of the nearly 2,200 approved per day, and IndiGo cancelled 460 flights from six metros alone, Elbers claimed that the airline was "back on the feet" and its operations were "stable."
He also said that lakhs of customers have already received their full refunds, without giving any specific numbers, but remained tight-lipped on the issue of compensation to those whose flights were abruptly cancelled, hugely delayed or rescheduled without their consent.
ALSO READ: Indigo crisis: Turbulence hits dreams of Gulf job aspirants in M’luru; interviews shifted to Mumbai
As per the Civil Aviation Ministry's passenger charter, airlines are liable to pay compensation to passengers for flight delays or cancellations under certain situations. Also, airlines have to provide this compensation automatically without passengers having to request it.
IndiGo has cancelled thousands of flights nationwide after failing to plan for tighter safety regulations, causing severe hardships for passengers, driving up airfares on other domestic carriers and creating chaos across airports pan-India.
After the situation, which started on December 1 continued till December 5, the government finally stepped in with the DGCA issuing show-cause notices to Elbers and IndiGo Chief Operating Officer Isidro Proqueras, who is also the Accountable Manager for the Rahul Bhatia-controlled airline, and also ordered capping of airfares.
On Tuesday, the government ordered a 10 per cent cut in the airline's winter schedule.
"The Ministry considers it necessary to curtail the overall Indigo routes, which will help in stabilising the airline's operations and lead to reduced cancellations. A curtailment of 10 per cent has been ordered. While abiding by it, Indigo will continue to cover all its destinations as before," Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu said.
Earlier that day, the DGCA had issued a notice to the airline, ordering a 5 per cent cut in its schedule and asked it to submit the revised plan by Wednesday 5 pm. PTI IAS DR
