England trail by 135 runs on Day 2 of 4th Ashes Test
Melbourne: Alastair Cooks unbeaten century helped England score 192/2, trailing by 135 runs at stumps on the second day of the fourth Ashes Test match against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground here on Wednesday.
Cook (104) and skipper Joe Root (49) were at the crease when umpires dislodged the bails for the day.
The duo forged an unbeaten 112-run partnership to stabilise the England innings after Mark Stoneman (15) and James Vince (17) failed to do the job.
Cook was dropped on 66 by Australia skipper Steve Smith at first slip off Mitchell Marsh but after that he played sensibly and completed his ton.
Cook and Stoneman started the innings on a positive note but Stoneman was dismissed by Nathon Lyon in the 12th over.
Pacer Josh Hazlewood then trapped Vince leg before wicket to make it 80/2.
After that, Cook and Root came together and helped their team to bounce back strongly.
Earlier, Australia resumed at 244/3 and pacer Stuart Broad picked up 4/51 to send the hosts crashing to 327 all out. He was aided by James Anderson, his new-ball partner who ended with figures of 3/61.
Brief scores: Australia 327/10 against England 192/2 (Alastair Cook 104, Joe Root 49; Josh Hazlewood 1/39)
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HP Cong Minority Morcha delegation meets with party leader Venugopal over mosque row
Shimla (PTI): A delegation of the Himachal Congress Minority Morcha apprised the party's central leaders on Thursday of the atmosphere of fear created in the state by targeting a particular community and staging demonstrations near mosques.
The delegation led by Iqbal Mohammad, president of the state Congress Minority Morcha, also comprised imams of various mosques. It met with Congress general secretary K C Venugopal and its Minority Morcha national president Imran Pratapgarhi in New Delhi.
In a statement here, the state Congress Minority Morcha said the situation has become tense due to demonstrations by Hindu outfits in front of mosques and efforts were being made to vitiate the atmosphere and instill fear among Muslims.
Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu is trying to take people of all religions along but some elements are trying to spoil the atmosphere and malign the government, it added.
According to the statement, Venugopal spoke to the chief minister over the phone over the issue.
Ten people were injured during a protest demanding the demolition of a portion of a mosque in Shimla's Sanjauli area last week. In Mandi, police used water cannons on protestors demanding the demolition of an unauthorised portion of a mosque in the town.
On Tuesday, residents of Kasumpti in Shimla submitted a memorandum to demolish a mosque in the area and similar demands are also coming in from Sunni and other areas in the state.
A dispute between a barber from the minority community and a local businessman in the Malyana area in the suburbs of Shimla on August 30 turned into a communal issue with Hindu groups demanding the demolition of unauthorised mosques and residents calling for the identification and verification of outsiders coming in the state.
