Fifth Test: Cook's historic ton puts England in control
London, Sep 10 : A 129-run partnership between opener Alastair Cook (103 batting) and Joe Root (92 batting) put England in the driver's seat in the fifth and final Test against India at the Oval here on Monday.
Cook, playing his last Test, notched up his 33rd Test ton and also became the fifth batsman in the history of the game to hit a ton both in his debut and final games.
The England opener had also scored a century in the second innings of his debut Test, against India, in Nagpur in 2006. Riding on the duo's partnership, England now has a 283-run lead with five more sessions of play left.
Cook, 33, meanwhile also became the highest Test run-scorer among the left-handed batsmen as he went past Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara (12400), adding another achievement to his illustrious career.
Earlier, resuming the fourth day at 114/2, both the English batsmen looked in solid control, making the visitors struggle for a breakthrough.
After being bowled out for 332 in their first innings, the hosts restricted India to 292 all out to take a 40-run lead. England were on 243/2 when the umpires called for the lunch break.
Brief scores: England 332 and 243/2 (Alastair Cook 103, Joe Root 92; Mohammed Shami 1/50) vs India 292 at Lunch on Day 4.
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Another North Goa nightclub sealed; Kejriwal says corruption led to fire tragedy
Panaji (PTI): As part of a crackdown against tourist establishments violating laws and safety norms in the aftermath of the Arpora fire tragedy, Goa authorities on Saturday sealed a renowned club at Vagator and revoked the fire department NOC of another club.
Cafe CO2 Goa, located on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea at Vagator beach in North Goa, was sealed. The move came two days after Goya Club, also in Vagator, was shut down for alleged violations of rules.
Elsewhere, campaigning for local body polls, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said the fire incident at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora, which claimed 25 lives on December 6, happened because the BJP government in the state was corrupt.
An inspection of Cafe CO2 Goa by a state government-appointed team revealed that the establishment, with a seating capacity of 250, did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC) of the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The club, which sits atop Ozrant Cliff, also did not have structural stability, the team found.
The Fire and Emergency Services on Saturday also revoked the NOC issued to Diaz Pool Club and Bar at Anjuna as the fire extinguishers installed in the establishment were found to be inadequate, said divisional fire officer Shripad Gawas.
A notice was issued to Nitin Wadhwa, the partner of the club, he said in the order.
Campaigning at Chimbel village near Panaji in support of his party's Zilla Panchayat election candidate, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal said the nightclub fire at Arpora happened because of the "corruption of the Pramod Sawant-led state government."
"Why this fire incident happened? I read in the newspapers that the nightclub had no occupancy certificate, no building licence, no excise licence, no construction licence or trade licence. The entire club was illegal but still it was going on," he said.
"How could it go on? Couldn't Pramod Sawant or anyone else see it? I was told that hafta (bribe) was being paid," the former Delhi chief minister said.
A person can not work without bribing officials in the coastal state, Kejriwal said, alleging that officers, MLAs and even ministers are accepting bribes.
