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.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Ex-Army officer assaulted, robbed at gunpoint by woman he met through matrimonial website
Mathura(UP), Apr 5 (PTI): A retired Army colonel from Haryana has filed a police complaint here, alleging that he was held hostage, assaulted, looted and forced to participate in an "obscene video" at gunpoint with a woman he met through a matrimonial website, police said on Saturday.
The woman from Mathura, who was allegedly in on the plan to rob him, was working with other accomplices, the ex-armyman said in his complaint filed on Thursday.
According to Barsana Station House Officer (SHO) Raj Kamal Singh, Colonel Rajneesh Soni (retired), a resident of Gurugram, reported that he was contacted by a woman from Barsana on a matrimonial website in January. The woman allegedly agreed to marry him, and they began communicating.
The woman allegedly persuaded the colonel to visit Barsana on January 25, requesting that he visit the Radharani temple. When he arrived, she arranged for his stay at a guest house and took him on a tour of the area, including a visit to the temple, the complainant said.
After returning to the guest house, the woman and her accomplices allegedly told the colonel that her brother had been involved in an accident and they needed to leave immediately. They then led him to a waiting car.
"Once outside the town limits, the colonel alleges that he was attacked by the occupants of the car. They seized his phone, physically assaulted him, and forced him to contact relatives and friends to transfer money," the SHO said.
"He was then taken back to the guest house, where he was allegedly forced to participate in obscene videos and photographs at gunpoint. He was threatened that the videos would be made public if he reported the incident," the officer said.
The colonel has alleged that his purse, bag, gold chain, debit card and Rs. 12,000 in cash were stolen from the guest house.
After an unsuccessful attempt at locating the perpetrators himself, the colonel finally reported the incident to the Barsana police two days ago, he said.
"A case has been registered under relevant sections of the BNS and all facts are being investigated. Further action will be taken as per facts found in the investigation," the SHO said.
