India fight back through Washington and Thakur, concede 33-run lead
Brisbane: Fighting back through debutant Washington Sundar and Shardul Thakur, India scored 336 in their first innings in reply to Australia's 369 on day three of the series-deciding fourth Test here on Sunday.
Washington (62) and Thakur (67) added 123 runs for the seventh wicket after India lost four wickets.
Resuming at 62 for two, skipper Ajinkya Rahane (37) was watchful till he went for a flashy drive off Mitchell Starc and ended up getting caught in the slip cordon.
Before his dismissal, Cheteshwar Pujara (25) fell to a peach of a delivery off Josh Hazlewood in the opening session.
In the second session, India lost Mayank Agarwal (38) and young Rishabh Pant (23) and innings seemed to be falling apart but Washington and Thakur resisted the Australian attack with aplomb.
Thakur's combative knock ended when Pat Cummins went through his gates while Washington was dismissed by Starc in the final session.
Brief Scores:
Australia 1st innings: 369 all out 115.2 overs (M Labuschagne 108; T Paine 50, M Wade 45; T Natarajan 3/78, S Thakur 3/94, W Sundar 3/89).
India 1st innings: 336 all out in 111.4 overs. (S Thakur 67, W Sundar 62, R Sharma 44; J Hazlewood 5/57, M Starc 2/88).
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Prominent temples in UP closed during lunar eclipse
Lucknow (PTI): Prominent temples across Uttar Pradesh, including the Ram temple in Ayodhya, Kashi Vishwanath temple in Varanasi, Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi temple and the Vindhyavasini temple in Mirzapur, were closed on Tuesday in view of the lunar eclipse and will reopen in the evening after rituals.
According to Kashi Vishwanath temple authorities, the lunar eclipse will be visible in India and observed between 3.27 pm and 6.47 pm.
In keeping with religious scriptures, temples will observe ‘Sutak Kaal’, the inauspicious period preceding and during the eclipse, during which regular rituals and darshan are restricted.
The Shri Kashi Vishwanath Temple Trust in Varanasi said that as per tradition, the temple gates are closed before the commencement of the eclipse. Following this custom, the temple doors were shut at 4.30 am.
After the conclusion of the eclipse, rituals related to ‘moksha’ (conclusion of the eclipse) would be performed in accordance with scriptures, followed by purification ceremonies.
The temple was scheduled to reopen for devotees after 7.15 pm.
In Ayodhya, the Ram Temple was closed from 9 am onwards due to the Sutak Kaal hours prior to the eclipse.
Temple sources said the Mangala Aarti at 4.30 am and the Shringar Aarti at 6.30 am were conducted as per schedule.
‘Bal Bhog’ was offered to Ram Lalla at 8.15 am. After the Shringar Aarti, darshan was allowed from 6.30 am to 9 am. The temple doors were then closed and were to reopen after evening aarti, with darshan available from 8.30 pm to 11 pm, Ram temple trust officials said.
In Mathura and Vrindavan, most temples closed early for morning darshan and were scheduled to reopen after the eclipse ended around 7 pm.
However, the historic Dwarkadhish Temple followed its regular schedule and remained open during the eclipse.
Rakesh Tiwari, media in-charge of the temple, said that in the Pushtimarg tradition, Lord Krishna is worshipped in his child form and devotees believe they must remain with the deity during difficult times.
The Banke Bihari Temple in Vrindavan opened early at 5.15 am and closed at 8.30 am.
According to a press release issued by the temple’s high-powered committee, it was scheduled to reopen for evening darshan at 7 pm and close at 10 pm.
At the Shri Krishna Janmasthan in Mathura, the temple opened at 5 am for Mangala Aarti and closed at 6 am for darshan.
Kapil Sharma, secretary of the Shri Krishna Janmasthan Seva Sansthan, said the temple would reopen for evening darshan at 8 pm and close at 9 pm.
The Radha Rani Temple in Barsana was also scheduled to reopen at 7 pm for evening darshan and close at 9 pm, Madhav Krishna Goswami, sewayat of the temple, said.
In Mirzapur, the Vindhyavasini Temple remained closed in the morning in view of the eclipse.
Bhanu Pathak of the Vindhya Panda Samaj, said the temple doors were shut from 3.15 pm to 8 pm during the Sutak and eclipse period.
After completion of rituals and aarti, devotees will be allowed to offer prayers.
Temple authorities across the state appealed to devotees to adhere to the revised schedules and cooperate with the arrangements made in view of the eclipse.
