England set India 420-run target after scoring 178 in second innings
Chennai: England set India a daunting 420-run target to win the first Test after scoring 178 in their second innings on day four here on Monday.
England found the going tough in their second essay after the visitors bowled out India for 337 in their first innings to take a 241-run lead.
If India manage to chase the target it will be highest ever successful run chase in Test cricket history. The previous best is 418.
The Indians, especially Washington Sundar, were fluent in stroke-making after the hosts resumed at overnight score of 257 for six.
Washington remained unbeaten at 85.
England though struggled a bit as the pitch became tougher for stroke-making. Skipper Joe Root was top-scorer with his 40-run knock while Ollie Pope (28) was the next best.
Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, who dismissed opener Rory Burns earlier in the day, snared Dominic Sibley (16), Ben Stokes (7), Dom Bess (25) and Jofra Archer (5) to complete his 28th five-wicket haul. He also got rid of James Anderson to end the England innings.
Ishant Sharma became the sixth Indian and third pacer from the country to take 300 wickets in Tests cricket when he dismissed Dan Lawrence (18).
Brief Scores:
England: 578 and 178 in 46.3 overs (Joe Root 40, Ollie Pope 28; Ravichandran Ashwin 6/61)
India 1st innings: 337 all out in 95.5 overs (Rishabh Pant 91, Washington SUndar 85 not out, Cheteshwar Pujara 73, Dom Bess 4/76, Jofra Archer 2/75).
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Rahul Gandhi has tea with 'dead' voters from Bihar, thanks EC for experience
New Delhi, Aug 13 (PTI): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said he had a unique experience of having tea with some "dead" voters from Bihar and thanked the Election Commission for it.
A group of seven voters from Bihar met the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha at his residence and shared their experience of how they were declared "dead" by the EC and their names removed from the electoral rolls.
"There have been many interesting experiences in life, but I never got the chance to have tea with 'dead people'. For this unique experience, thank you Election Commission!" Gandhi said in a post in Hindi on X.
He also shared a video of his meeting with the "dead" voters. In it, Gandhi is heard telling them to move around and see Delhi as the "dead" cannot even be charged tickets.
In the video, some of them told Gandhi that they came to know that they were "declared dead" by the EC during the special intensive revision (SIR), and were among the 65 lakh voters whose names have been removed from the electoral rolls of poll-bound Bihar.
The group also told Gandhi that they appeared before the Supreme Court on Wednesday to get their voting rights back. The apex court is hearing petitions against the special intensive revision of electoral rolls in Bihar.
In a statement, the party later said that seven voters from Bihar, all very much alive, shared tea with Rahul Gandhi today, even as the Election Commission's SIR list had them as "dead".
Ramikbal Ray, Harendra Ray, Lalmuni Devi, Vachiya Devi, Lalwati Devi, Punam Kumari, and Munna Kumar all belong to Tejashwi Yadav's constituency, Raghopur.
"They have been removed from the electoral rolls despite having completed the requisite paperwork for the SIR.
"The Election Commission has not openly published lists of the people whom it has declared dead, migrated, etc. Our teams on the ground were able to identify these people only because they managed to informally get EC's internal report in two to three polling booths," the Congress said.
These seven represent only a fraction of "unjustly" deleted voters in two to three polling booths in the constituency, it added.
"This is not a clerical error — it is political disenfranchisement in plain sight.
"After 'Vote Chori' was exposed in Bengaluru, it is clear that the Bihar SIR exercise is also compromised. When the living are struck off as dead, the death certificate is issued to democracy itself," the Congress said.
