India make early inroads but Root fifty takes England to 119 for 2 at lunch
Nottingham, Aug 7: India's fast bowlers made early inroads but England captain Joe Root hit a lovely counter-attacking half-century to take England's second innings score to 119 for 2 against India at lunch on the fourth day of the opening Test.
England currently have erased the 95-run first innings deficit to enjoy a slender 24-run lead with bright sunshine baking the pitch and making stroke-play easier than the first three days.
Root , who hit nine boundaries, including some rasping drives through the cover, is batting on 56 off 74 balls while opener Dom Sibley (27 batting off 116 balls) survived anxious moments as he got a DRS decision overturned off Shardul Thakur's bowling.
Virat Kohli wanted quick breakthroughs to put pressure on the opposition and Mohammed Siraj (11-2-36-1) and Jasprit Bumraj (8-2-20-1) did just that in the first halfhour, removing Rory Burns (18 off 49 balls) and Zak Crawley (6 off 7 balls) respectively in quick succession.
The extra pace possessed by both did help them as Siraj got one to angle across Burns and the edge was a regulation catch for Rishabh Pant.
Pant however had to dive to his right to pouch the thick outside edge that came from Crawley's bat when Bumrah's delivery straightened after pitching.
Both Burns and Crawley after their prolonged poor run for England will be doubtful starters in the second Test.
Two quick wickets could have put England under pressure but Root decided to take the aggressive route as he started with a streaky boundary with an open bat face past gully. The bowler was Bumrah.
In the very next over from Siraj, he crunched one through covers and the third boundary was a whip past mid-wicket followed by another cover drive. Mohammed Shami failed to find his rhythm during the morning session as he was taken apart by Root.
Courtesy Root, the duo quickly added 50 runs for the third wicket as England slowly covered the deficit.
Root did survive a leg-before appeal after a delivery from Jadeja skid through and found him on the backfoot. Although India reviewed the appeal, it was evident that the ball had not pitched in line of stumps and thus English captain had nothing to worry.
As if to punish Jadeja, he played a back-cut as England went past 100-run mark and a boundary past slip cordon got him his 51st fifty in Test match cricket.
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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.
