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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India & Israel elevate ties to special strategic partnership, vow to soon conclude free trade deal
Jerusalem (PTI): India and Israel on Thursday elevated their "time-tested" relationship to a special strategic partnership and agreed to soon firm up a "mutually beneficial" free trade deal even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi strongly backed the Gaza peace initiative, asserting that humanity must never become a victim of conflict.
Following talks between Modi and his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu, the two sides inked a plethora of agreements to expand cooperation in areas of trade, agriculture, energy, cyberspace and digital payment.
India and Israel also vowed to expand their already close defence partnership by working towards joint development and joint production of military hardware under the framework of the transfer of technologies.
In his media statement, Modi said India's security interest is linked to peace and stability in the Middle East, adding that New Delhi fully supports the Gaza Peace Initiative.
"India's stance is clear: humanity must never become a victim of conflict. A path to peace has been created through the Gaza Peace Plan. India has fully supported these efforts," he said.
"In the future as well, we will continue dialogue and cooperation with all countries," he said.
PM Modi landed in Israel on Wednesday on a two-day visit. It is his second visit to Israel in nine years.
In his remarks, the prime minister said India and Israel have a united view that there is no place for terrorism in the world and both sides stand shoulder-to-shoulder in countering terrorism and its supporters.
"Our relationship is founded on the strong bedrock of deep trust, shared democratic values, and human sensitivities. Our bond has stood the test of every trial of time," he said.
"Today, we have taken the historic decision to elevate our time-tested partnership to the status of a 'Special Strategic Partnership'," he said.
The prime minister also announced the establishment of an India-Israel critical and emerging technologies partnership to impart a new momentum for cooperation in areas of artificial intelligence, quantum, and critical minerals. "I am pleased that an agreement has been reached for the use of UPI in Israel," he said.
The prime minister, referring to the threat of terrorism, said India and Israel will continue to confront the menace unitedly.
"India and Israel are completely clear that there is no place for terrorism in the world. In any form, in any expression, terrorism cannot be accepted," he said.
"We have stood shoulder-to-shoulder in opposing terrorism and its supporters, and we will continue to do so," he added.
India and Israel also discussed the implementation of the India-Middle East Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) and cooperation under the framework of I2U2 (India-Israel-UAE-USA).
