IND vs AUS 4th Test: Gill scores half-century, India reach 129/1 after losing Rohit Sharma
Ahmedabad (PTI): Young Shubman Gill justified his inclusion in the playing XI with a composed half-century as India scored at a fair clip to reach 129 for one at lunch on the third day of the fourth Test against Australia, here Saturday.
India are still 351 runs behind Australia's first innings score of 480.
India lost the wicket of their skipper Rohit Sharma (35 off 58 balls), who let slip a golden opportunity to get a big score on the best batting surface of the series.
Gill (65 batting, 119 balls) and Rohit added 74 runs for the opening wicket.
Sharma looked in good flow as he pulled a Mitchell Starc behind square for a six and ran well between the wickets during their 21-over stand.
The mode of dismissal was disappointing as the delivery from left-arm spinner Matt Kuhnemann (1/20) wasn't a wicket-taking one.
It was pitched short and Sharma could have hit it anywhere but his uppish back-foot punch found Marnus Labuschagne, stationed at short extra-cover for that particular shot.
Gill didn't have any issues tackling the Australian attack as he got a steady partner in Cheteshwar Pujara (22 batting), who showed more purpose at the crease during their unbroken stand of 55 runs.
The opener has hit five fours and a six while Pujara stepped out to smash off-spinner Todd Murphy through the covers for a boundary.
Towards the end of the session, there was one traditional off-break from Murphy that turned significantly to miss Gill's bat, the bails as well as wicketkeeper Alex Carey's gloves.
The pacers aren't getting much help from the track and the short-ball tactic that both Starc and Cameron Green used didn't pay much dividends.
The pitch is still on the slower side and pace off the track isn't much to hurry the batters into playing their strokes.
There is all the time in the world to rock back to either play the cut or punch through the off-side or play the pull in-front or behind the square.
Gill scored his first 40 runs quickly but after that slowed a bit.
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Affront to non-Hindi speaking people: Chidambaram slams use of Hindi words in bills' names
New Delhi (PTI): Congress leader P Chidambaram has slammed the "increasing practice" of the government using Hindi words in the titles of the bills and said the change is an "affront" to the non-Hindi-speaking people.
Chidambaram said the non-Hindi-speaking people cannot identify a Bill/Act with titles that are in Hindi words written in English letters, and they cannot pronounce them.
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"I am opposed to the increasing practice of the government using Hindi words written in English letters in the title of the Bills to be introduced in Parliament," the former Union minister said late Monday night.
Hitherto, the practice was to write the title of the Bill in English words in the English version and in Hindi words in the Hindi version of the Bill, Chidambaram said.
"When no one pointed out any difficulty in the 75 year practice, why should government make a change?" he said.
"This change is an affront to non-Hindi speaking people and to States that have an official language other than Hindi," the Congress leader said.
Successive governments have reiterated the promise that English will remain an Associate Official Language, Chidambaram said.
"I fear that promise is in danger of being broken," the Congress MP said.
