First Test: Bumrah, Ashwin strike as England reach 67/2 at lunch on Day 1
Chennai: Pacer Jasprit Bumrah and off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin got one apiece to peg England back to 67 for 2 at lunch on the opening day of the first Test against India, here on Friday.
Skipper Joe Root, playing his 100th Test, was batting on 4 while opener Dominic Sibley was undefeated on 26 (96 balls, 3 fours) going into the lunch break.
Openers Sibley and Rory Burns provided England a solid start with a 63-run partnership during which they did not appear to be in too much trouble.
After negotiating the pace duo of Ishant Sharma and Bumrah (7-1-17-1), they kept Ashwin (10-0-31-1) and left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem (5-1-11-0) at bay, showing patience and also playing shots whenever offered the opportunity.
The openers appeared to be making a steady progress before Burns unnecessarily went for a reverse sweep off Ashwin and saw the ball lob to 'keeper Rishab Pant for an easy catch.
Newcomer Dan Lawrence was sent back by Bumrah with a beauty which tailed in sharply catching the batsman plumb in-front.
Indian captain Virat Kohli had introduced Ashwin into the attack in the eighth over. The openers Sibley and Burns negotiated the first hour without much trouble.
Ishant (5-1-8-0) and Bumrah bowled steadily but could not cause any damage. Sibley and Burns played sensibly and showed patience to deny India any early inroads.
Bumrah, playing his first test at home, saw Pant grass Burns off the first delivery which the batsman tried to glance.
England captain Root won the toss and elected to bat. Star all-rounder Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer and Rory Burns returned to the side after missing the series in Sri Lanka.
For India, Virat Kohli returned after the paternity break while Ishant Sharma returned to the squad while Shahbaz Nadeem got to play his second Test.
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BJP turning EC into tool for vote chori: Rahul Gandhi
New Delhi (PTI): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday alleged that the BJP is turning the Election Commission into a "tool" for "vote chori".
Sharing a clip of his speech during a discussion on election reforms in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, Gandhi said on X, "India's public is asking these 3 very important and direct questions: 1. Why was the CJI removed from the EC selection panel? 2. Why was almost complete legal immunity given to the EC before the 2024 elections? 3. Why the hurry to destroy CCTV footage within 45 days?"
"The answer is one - BJP is turning the Election Commission into a tool for vote theft," the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha said.
In a no-holds-barred attack, Gandhi on Tuesday alleged that the BJP and the Election Commission were "colluding to destroy" India's democracy and "rob people of their voice".
Participating in the discussion on election reforms, Gandhi claimed the BJP is "directing and using" the Election Commission to damage India's democracy.
Making suggestions, Gandhi called for providing machine readable voter list to all parties one month before elections, taking back the law that allows destruction of CCTV footage after 45 days, giving access to EVMs, and changing the law that allows election commissioners "to get away with whatever they want to do".
