Injuries rule Ishant, Jadeja, Rahane out of 2nd Test
Kane Williamson out of 2nd Test with elbow injury, Latham to lead
Mumbai, Dec 3: New Zealand captain Kane Williamson will miss the second and final Test against India here due to the recurrence of his left-elbow injury which has troubled him for much of this year.
Tom Latham will lead the side in place of Williamson, who has been dealing with the tendon injury since it first emerged in the New Zealand home summer.
Coach Gary Stead confirmed the injury had flared-up during the first Test in Kanpur and with it failing to improve in the days following the match, the call was made to rule the captain out.
"It's been a really tough time for Kane having to deal with such a persistent injury," Stead said.
"While we've been able to manage the injury through the year and the T20 World Cup, the shift to Test cricket and the increased batting loading has re-aggravated his elbow.
"Ultimately the injury is still not right and while he got through the Kanpur Test, it was clear playing in the second Test wasn't an option," he further stated.
Stead informed that Williamson will require sustained rest.
"It's been a challenging year for Kane trying to manage his elbow and it's important we now formulate a good plan with him to ensure the injury does not continue to plague him.
"He will likely require a sustained period of rest followed by rehabilitation, strengthening and gradual batting loading."
India vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane, whose place in the playing eleven seemed doubtful due to lack of form, was on Friday ruled out of the second Test against New Zealand due to a hamstring niggle along with two more injured senior players Ishant Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja.
The match is expected to start later Friday amid wet weather.
"Rahane sustained a minor left hamstring strain while fielding on the final day of the 1st Test match in Kanpur. Since he has not recovered completely, he has been ruled out of the 2nd Test in Mumbai," read a BCCI statement.
Ishant, who would also have been dropped, developed a left little finger dislocation, as per the media release.
"Fast bowler Ishant Sharma dislocated his left little finger during the final day of the 1st Test match in Kanpur. He is thus ruled out of the 2nd Test in Mumbai."
The big blow is, however, Jadeja's forearm injury, with which he played the Kanpur Test.
"All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja suffered a right forearm injury during the 1st Test match in Kanpur. After undergoing scans, he was diagnosed with a swelling on his forearm.
"He has been advised rest and is thus ruled out of the 2nd Test in Mumbai."
Team News | BLACKCAPS captain Kane Williamson will miss the second and final Test against India in Mumbai as he continues to battle the left-elbow injury which has troubled him for much of 2021. More | https://t.co/VClIKxKI8Q #INDvNZ pic.twitter.com/wGeA46LN4g
— BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) December 3, 2021
NEWS - Injury updates – New Zealand’s Tour of India
— BCCI (@BCCI) December 3, 2021
Ishant Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane and Ravindra Jadeja ruled out of the 2nd Test.
More details here - https://t.co/ui9RXK1Vux #INDvNZ pic.twitter.com/qdWDPp0MIz
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Traffic fraud: Fake 'no-entry' sticker racket busted in Delhi, mastermind among 3 held
New Delhi (PTI): Police here have busted a crime syndicate involved in traffic fraud and extortion, arresting three people including the alleged mastermind who sold fake stickers to help commercial vehicles bypass no-entry restrictions, an official said on Saturday.
The police said they dismantled a third organised syndicate linked to traffic-related frauds, with the arrest of Rinku Rana alias Bhushan, his associate Sonu Sharma and Mukesh Kumar alias Pakodi, who was also connected to another extortion syndicate.
According to the police, Rinku Rana was running a well-organised network that facilitated the movement of commercial goods vehicles during restricted hours by selling fake 'marka' or stickers for Rs 2,000 to Rs 5,000 per vehicle every month. The stickers were falsely projected as authorisation to evade traffic challans.
During raids, the police recovered Rs 31 lakh in cash, property documents worth several crores of rupees, over 500 fake stickers and six mobile phones allegedly used to operate the syndicate.
The crackdown followed a complaint filed by a traffic police officer in April this year after a commercial vehicle tried to evade checking by producing a fake sticker claiming exemption from enforcement action.
Investigation revealed that social media groups were being used to coordinate the illegal movement of vehicles and alert drivers about traffic police checkpoints, police said.
"A parallel system was being run to cheat drivers and vehicle owners while undermining traffic enforcement. On the basis of evidence, provisions related to organised crime under the BNS were invoked," a senior police officer said.
Sonu Sharma, the police said, managed social media groups through which stickers were sold and real-time alerts were circulated regarding traffic police movement. He also acted as a link between Rana and drivers operating in the field.
In a related development, Mukesh Kumar alias Pakodi, an associate of Rajkumar alias Raju Meena, who was earlier arrested under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), was also apprehended.
Mukesh allegedly helped extort money from transporters and was involved in blackmailing traffic police personnel by recording enforcement actions, the police said.
Investigators alleged the syndicate led by Rajkumar deployed drivers to deliberately violate traffic rules and secretly record police officials during challans, later using manipulated videos to extort money under threat of false allegations.
The police said that in total, eight accused belonging to three different organised crime syndicates linked to traffic frauds and extortion have been arrested so far.
Further investigation is underway to trace the remaining members, conduct financial probes, and analyse digital evidence recovered during the raids, officials added.
