Ranchi, Feb 23: England recovered from a morning session collapse to post 302 for 7 on day one of the fourth Test against India, with Joe Root scoring an unbeaten century here on Friday.

On a day when debutant pacer Akash Deep tormented the visitors by dismissing both the openers -- Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett -- in the morning and returned figures of 3/70 to make a dream debut, former England skipper Root stood firm scoring an unbeaten 106 off 226 balls to halt the charge of the home team bowlers.

At stumps, giving Root company was Ollie Robinson (31 not out).

Earlier, Root and Ben Foakes added 113 runs for the sixth wicket to get England out of trouble after they were left struggling at 112/5 by the 27-year-old Akash Deep.

Making his Test debut in place of pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, who has been rested, Akash Deep recovered from a no-ball setback to dismiss Ben Duckett (11), Ollie Pope (0) and Zak Crawley (42) and leave England reeling at 57 for 3.

Jonny Bairstow smashed a 35-ball 38 with four boundaries and a six before Ravichandran Ashwin (1/17) trapped him in front.

Skipper Ben Stokes (3) was caught in front of the wicket by Ravindra Jadeja (1/28) as India dominated the morning session.

India are leading the five-Test series 2-1.

Brief Score:

England 1st innings: 302 for 7 in 90 overs (Joe Root not out 106, Zak Crawley 42, Jonny Bairstow 38, Ben Foakes 47, Ollie Robinson not out 31; Akash Deep 3/70, Mohammed Siraj 2/60).

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Bengaluru: Karnataka has borne the overwhelming share of social security pension payouts in the last two fiscals, with the Union government contributing only a fraction—just 4% of the total Rs 11,831 crore spent—according to official data cited by Deccan Herald on Monday.

The minimal contribution by the Centre towards pension payments in Karnataka, Rs 564.44 crore in 2023-24 and 2024-25, came under scrutiny during a District Development Coordination and Monitoring Committee (DISHA) meeting. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah reportedly expressed strong displeasure at the Centre’s inaction on revising pension amounts.

“How can a government give just Rs 200 as pension in this day and age? The state government has revised the pension amount while the Centre hasn’t,” DH quoted Chief Minister’s Additional Chief Secretary L.K. Atheeq as saying.

The Union government’s pension amounts, unchanged since at least 2012, range between Rs 200 and Rs 500 per month under the Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension scheme, Indira Gandhi National Widow Pension Scheme, and the Indira Gandhi National Disability Pension Scheme.

Meanwhile, Karnataka has significantly increased its contribution, paying between Rs 400-2,000 per month as its share under the three schemes.

In addition to raising pension amounts, the state has expanded the list of beneficiaries by easing the criteria. “For example, the Centre’s guidelines say that a person’s disability should be 75 percent or more in order to receive pensions. The state government has reduced the disability limit to 40 percent and above,” the news outlet quoted Atheeq as saying.

Currently, the Centre’s pension schemes cover 14.14 lakh beneficiaries in Karnataka. In contrast, the total number of beneficiaries under all state-funded pension schemes stands at 82.57 lakh.

Data also revealed a broader trend of underfunding. Between 2014 and 2024, Karnataka experienced a shortfall of Rs 25,926.93 crore under various centrally sponsored schemes due to the Centre not releasing its full share. The central government exceeded its committed contribution in only two financial years—2019–20 and 2023–24.