Indian spinners reduce England to 215/8 at tea
Hyderabad (PTI): The Indian spin troika rudely nudged England's tradition-resisting plunderbats back to reality while limiting them to 215 for eight at tea in their first innings on the opening day of the first Test here on Thursday.
Captain Ben Stokes (43 batting) and Mark Wood (7 batting) are keeping the visitors above the water.
In the morning, Stokes decided to bat first in the hope of making the most of a fresh surface before it gets ragged.
But his batters were woefully equipped to challenge Ravichandran Ashwin (2/55), Ravindra Jadeja (3/75) and Axar Patel (2/33) on a pitch that offered them turn and grip as early as from the ninth over.
Ashwin set in motion the process of dismantling England's batting order in that over, though it was more of a result of Ben Duckett (32) playing for non-existent spin.
The 37-year-old managed to skid one on to beat Duckett's defence to hit his pads.
Umpire Chris Gaffaney did not have to think long before raising his finger, and even a review could not save Duckett as England's opening stand ended at 55.
It was also, perhaps, the most reassuring phase in England's innings as they were able to give a peek into their Bazball' approach while scoring at five runs an over.
In fact, they milked 25 runs from the first four overs bowled by pacers Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj.
But once that partnership was broken, England failed to press on against Indian spinners as Ollie Pope, Zak Crawley, Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow stumbled badly.
Axar castled Bairstow with a peach after the England batter failed to cover the spin and the ball crashed on to the top of off-stump.
It also signalled the end of a 61-run alliance for the fourth wicket between Bairstow and Root, as it kept England afloat for a while even though not in the most assured manner.
However, the dismissal of Root would haunt the visitors the most among all the other dismissals. Root is one batsman in the English line-up who can counter spin well, but here his approach was too pre-meditative to be successful.
The former captain kept on sweeping the spinners and Jadeja hit a fuller length which resulted in a top-edge to short fine leg where Jasprit Bumrah did not have to strain himself much to complete the catch.
Ben Foakes has this reputation of being a fine player of spin but on this day only struggle was visible as he departed with a 24-ball four, offering a simple catch to KS Bharat behind the wickets off Axar.
It left captain Stokes, who employed conventional and non-conventional sweeps to counter spin, to wage a lonely battle in the company of tailenders and even looked solid during his stay in the middle as well.
But then on dire occasions like the one England encountered here, even a lion-hearted warrior like Stokes can only add a modicum of respectability to the total.
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'Strong evidence' available against Saif attacker, police tell court while opposing his bail plea
Mumbai, Jul 25 (PTI): Police have opposed the bail plea of the Bangladeshi national arrested for allegedly stabbing Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan with a knife and injuring him at his home here in January this year, telling a Mumbai court there was "strong evidence" against the accused.
Citing a Forensic Science Laboratory report, police reiterated before the sessions court their earlier claim knife fragments that got lodged near the actor's spine during the attack as well as a part found at the crime spot have matched with the weapon recovered from the accused, Shariful Islam.
These three pieces were part of the same weapon (knife) used to attack the filmstar, the police said in a written response to the accused's plea submitted in the court on Thursday (July 24).
Khan was repeatedly stabbed with a knife by an intruder inside his 12th floor apartment in upscale Bandra on January 16 during a robbery attempt.
The 54-year-old actor underwent surgery at Lilavati Hospital to remove a piece of knife that got lodged near his spine during the attack. He was discharged from the private hospital after five days.
Shariful Islam, a Bangladeshi national, was arrested two days later for allegedly stabbing Khan.
The police, in their response, highlighted that the accused is a Bangladeshi citizen residing illegally in India.
If granted bail, there was a possibility that he may flee India and not appear before the court during the trial. The crime committed by the accused is of a "very serious nature, and strong evidence" is available against him, they argued.
In his bail plea, filed through advocate Vipul Dushing, the accused asserted he was innocent and had no prior criminal record.
Investigation into the case has practically concluded with only the filing of a chargesheet pending, the accused contended while seeking bail.
The alleged attacker has been booked under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) sections related to house trespass, robbery and dacoity with attempt to cause death or grievous injury.
