India fight back after Smith century to restrict Australia to 286/9
Bengaluru: Steve Smith struck his ninth ODI hundred before India bounced back in the last 10 overs to limit the visitors to 286 for nine in the series decider here on Sunday.
Smith (131 off 132) rose to the occasion but did not get much support from the other batsmen. The other substantial knock came from Marnus Labuschagne (54 off 64).
Mohammad Shami (4/63 in 10) was brilliant in the death overs striking thrice as Australia lost five wickets for 63 runs in the last 10 overs.
Australia won the toss for the third time in a row but unlike the last game in Rajkot, opted to bat.
Kohli decided to go in with the winning combination of the last game even though Rishabh Pant was available for selection. It meant K L Rahul was the specialist wicket-keeper batsman for the second successive game.
Australia lost their in-form openers David Warner (3) and Aaron Finch (19) -- rather early. Targeting the off-stump channel initially, Shami induced an outside edge from Warner with an away going delivery.
Smith was responsible for Finch's run out as he called his skipper for a run before changing his mind. Finch, who is usually calm and composed, was furious and used cuss words while walking back to the dressing room.
By the first powerplay, Australia reached 56 for two with Smith and Labuschagne in the middle. It was once again evident why they love batting together.
They both had stitched a 96-run stand on Friday and batted in a similar fashion, rotating the strike regularly and picking up an odd boundary enroute to their 127-run partnership.
Labuschagne, who made 46 in the Rajkot ODI, scored a half-century. Alongside Smith, he looked set for a big knock until a diving Kohli sent him back with a stunning catch at cover.
Jadeja, who got the ball to turn on a dry pitch, got his second wicket of the over when he had Mitchell Starc, who was sent ahead of Alex Carey, caught at deep midwicket leaving Australia at 173 four in 32 overs.
Smith was going along nicely at the other end but the team needed another substantial contribution to go past 300. He shared 58 runs for the fifth wicket with Carey (35) but the latter departed when the innings needed a move on.
Having missed his century by two runs on Friday, Smith reached the milestone with a single towards third man. It was his first ODI hundred in three years.
With not much support from the other end, Smith changed gears in the 46th over when pulled off a helicopter shot off Saini for a six besides collecting a four through backward point.
He hit back-to-back fours in the following over off Bumrah. Before he could do more damage, Smith fell to a fine catch from Shreyas Iyer at deep mid-wicket.
India were impressive in the final three overs with Shami and Bumrah keep things tight. Shami was spot on with his fuller balls again, finding the stumps of Pat Cummins and Adam Zampa.
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South Korean police question presidential security chief as rift over detaining president deepens
Seoul (AP): South Korean police questioned the chief of the presidential security service on Friday as the two agencies clashed over attempts to detain impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol.
The Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials and police are planning a second attempt to bring Yoon into custody as they jointly investigate whether his brief martial law declaration on Dec 3 amounted to an attempted rebellion. The presidential security service blocked an earlier attempt to detain Yoon at his official residence, which he has not left for weeks.
Park Jong-joon, the presidential security chief, says that his duty is to protect the president and warned of “bloodshed,” as critics said that his agency is becoming Yoon's private army.
Park ignored two summonses before appearing for questioning on Friday over allegations of obstructing justice, a week after his forces repelled dozens of anti-corruption and police investigators from Yoon's official residence.
The anti-corruption office and police have vowed to make a second, more forceful effort to detain Yoon, warning that members of the presidential security staff could be arrested if they get in the way.
The embattled president remains holed up at his official residence in Seoul, where the presidential security service has fortified the grounds with barbed wire and rows of vehicles blocking the roads.
Yoon made a short-lived declaration of martial law and deployed troops to surround the National Assembly on Dec. 3, which lasted only hours before lawmakers managed to get through the blockade and voted to lift the measure.
His presidential powers were suspended when the opposition-dominated Assembly voted to impeach him on Dec. 14 and accused him of rebellion. His fate now rests with the Constitutional Court, which has begun deliberating on whether to formally remove Yoon from office or reject the charges and reinstate him.
There's also speculation that police may attempt to detain Park and other leaders of the presidential security service before trying again to execute the detainment warrant against Yoon, which was renewed by a Seoul court on Tuesday.
Speaking to reporters upon arriving for police questioning, Park again criticized the efforts to detain Yoon, saying that the investigation should proceed in a manner “appropriate for the status of an incumbent president” and the “dignity of the nation.”
“Many citizens are surely deeply concerned about the possible conflict and confrontation between government agencies,” Park said. “I came here today with the belief that under no circumstances should there be any physical clashes or bloodshed, and am hoping to prevent such incidents from occurring.”
Park said he made several calls to the country's acting leader, Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok, urging him to mediate an alternative approach with law enforcement and also made similar requests to Yoon's lawyers, but did not receive a satisfactory response.
Yoon's lawyers accused the police of trying to undermine the leadership of the presidential security service.
“This is an abnormal move that displays a disregard for national security,” the lawyers said in a texted statement.
While the presidential security act mandates protection for Yoon, it does not authorize the service to block court-ordered detainments and some legal experts say the presidential security service's action last week may have been illegal.
Asked in parliament about the presidential security service's effort to block the detention, National Court Administration head Cheon Dae-yeop said Friday that “resistance without a legitimate reason can constitute a crime, such as obstruction of official duties.”
Although the president himself has wide-ranging immunity from prosecution while in office, that does not extend to allegations of rebellion or treason.
Yoon's lawyers have questioned the legitimacy of a new detention warrant against Yoon issued by the Seoul Western District Court, arguing that the anti-corruption agency lacks legal authority to investigate rebellion charges or order police to detain suspects.
They also argue that detention and search warrants against Yoon cannot be enforced at his residence, citing a law that protects locations potentially linked to military secrets from search without the consent of the person in charge - which would be Yoon.
Yoon's lawyers have urged the agency to either indict the president or seek a formal arrest warrant, a process that requires a court hearing. However, they have said that Yoon would only comply with an arrest warrant issued by the Seoul Central District Court, which handles most key requests in high-profile cases.
They accuse the agency of deliberately choosing another court with an allegedly favourable judge, even though the official residence is located in the jurisdiction of the Western District Court.
