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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Authorities know about Maoists' weapons, they will be brought following due process: CM Siddaramaiah
Mysuru, Jan 10: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday said authorities are in the know about the place where the weapons of six Maoists, who have surrendered, are kept, and that they will be brought following due process.
He also defended the Maoists surrendering before the government, which has come under criticism from the opposition BJP, stating that the intention of the administration is to end Naxalism and the people involved in such activities should come to the mainstream giving up arms.
"Weapons are there. Their mahajar will be done and they will be brought. We know where it is. After mahajar it will be brought," Siddaramaiah said in response to a question.
Speaking to reporters here, he said that the government's intention is that there should be no Naxalism, and it wants any agitation to be peaceful.
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"There should be no armed agitation. Babasaheb Ambedkar too said the same thing that constitutional methods should be used. There should be no usage of unconstitutional methods. No one should take law into their hands in the name of protest or agitation," he added.
Earlier in the day, Home Minister G Parameshwara said that six surrendered Maoists have not handed over their weapons, and the police are working to locate and recover them from the forest where they are believed to have been disposed of.
Noting that one Maoist, expelled from the surrendered group, is still at large and efforts are underway to trace him, the minister said there is no one else involved in Naxal activities in the state.
To a question about one Maoist being still at large, the CM said, "We are not sure whether one more Maoist is there are not. If he is there, I appeal to him too, to come to the mainstream."
To a question by farmers' protest against the central government, demanding for a 'legal MSP guarantee', Siddaramaiah said, "The Government of India is not a government that is pro farmer. Farmers are protesting, demanding to provide a legal framework for MSP, but they (govt) are not ready to do so. They are not agreeing to farmers' demands; this is an inhuman and anti-farmers government."
Asked about BJP planning 'Bhima Sangama' campaign as part of which party leaders will have food with Dalit families, Siddaramaiah, calling it a "joke", said, BJP's feelings and respect towards Ambedkar is known from Union Home Minister Amit Shah's statement (referring to his alleged comments during a debate on the Constitution in the Rajya Sabha last month).
"The BJP and its leaders speak about changing the Constitution. RSS leadership and Savarkar from Hindu Mahasabha had opposed the Constitution. While Congress is committed to the Constitution, we are protecting and implementing the Constitution and its objectives," he said.
Stating that he held discussions with the protesting Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA workers) from Karnataka, demanding a fixed monthly honorarium and other benefits, the CM said, he has told them the government will ensure that they get Rs 10,000 every month including incentives, and they have said that they will withdraw the protest.
"Currently Rs 8,000 is being given to them. It will be made Rs 10,000, including incentives. For those to whom the incentives don't add up to a total of Rs 10,000, we will give it," he said, adding that the fiscal position of the state is good.
