Jadeja, Washington fifties take India to 322/4 at tea
Manchester, Jul 27 (PTI): Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja extended India’s fight on day five of the fourth Test with determined half-centuries, giving the visitors a slender 11-run lead at tea time but more importantly raising visions of a morale boosting draw.
Both Jadeja (53 batting off 102) and Washington (58 batting off 139) batted with a strong purpose to save the game, frustrating a worn out England attack.
At tea, India were 322 for four after collecting 99 runs from a wicketless afternoon session.
Ben Stokes, who looked lethal in his eight over spell in the morning, could not keep up the intensity in the three overs he bowled in the second session.
In a 15-run over from Stokes, Washington pulled the England captain for a six and four to bring up his fifty before Jadeja employed the cut to complete his fifth half-century in six innings.
With not much batting to come and Rishabh Pant injured, it remains to be seen if India can pull off a draw from here.
What made England’s life difficult is that left-arm spinner Liam Dawson (0/70 in 39 overs) was not able to challenge the Indian left-handers enough while Jofra Archer too get could not get a breakthrough post lunch.
The second new ball is now 38 overs old, making batting easier.
In the morning session, Shubman Gill completed a gutsy hundred after Stokes battled through pain to dismiss a well set K L Rahul, leaving India at 223 for four at lunch.
Resuming the day at 174 for two with a deficit of 137, India remained on course to draw the game courtesy a fighting effort from Gill, who brought up his fourth century of the series. The Indian captain fell at the stroke of lunch with the visitors still trailing England by 88 runs.
Considering India’s backs against the walls and series on the line, this could be Gill’s most defining century if India managed to save the match and keep the series alive.
Expecting the ball to come back in, Gill felt for the one from Jofra Archer that shaped away, getting a faint outside edge.
The 188-run marathon stand between Gill and Rahul (90 off 230) was finally broken when the latter was trapped in front by Stokes with a ball that kept a tad low from length.
Soon after, Stokes got one jump to sharply from a similar length that foxed Rahul, leaving the Indian skipper in a lot of pain.
The rising ball first crashed into Gill’s right thumb before taking a piece of his
helmet.
It was remarkable that Stokes, who was not fit enough to bowl on day four, managed an eight-over spell on day five despite discomfort in his right shoulder and hamstring. Like at Lord’s, he did not care much about his injury prone body to help the team’s cause.
The new ball was taken after the 80th over and resulted in the wicket of Gill. Jadeja too would have be gone first ball but Joe Root could not hold on to a tough chance at first slip off Archer.
Brief scores:
India: 358 and 322/4 in 118 overs (KL Rahul 90, Shubman Gill 103, Ravindra Jadeja 53 batting, Washington Sundar 57 batting; Chris Woakes 2/57)
England 1st innings: 669 all out in 157.1 overs (Joe Root 150, Ben Stokes 141, Ben Duckett 94, Zak Crawley 84; Ravindra Jadeja 4/143).
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3 killed, 15 injured in fire after blast at firecracker unit in MP's Dewas; CM orders probe
Dewas/Indore (PTI): At least three workers were killed and 15 persons injured after a fire broke out following an explosion at a firecracker factory in Madhya Pradesh's Dewas district on Thursday, an official said.
Chief Minister Mohan Yadav expressed grief over the incident and ordered an investigation. The state government will provide an assistance of Rs 4 lakh to the kin of each of the deceased, and the injured will receive free treatment, he said in a post on X.
Three persons were killed in the fire at the firecracker unit located in Tonk Kalan area, and around 15 injured persons were sent to hospitals in Indore and Dewas, Collector Rituraj Singh told reporters after inspecting the site.
Videos of the aftermath surfaced on social media, showing thick white smoke billowing from the factory along the Agra–Mumbai national highway. The clips also showed people rushing the injured for treatment amid cries for help, with body parts seen scattered at the site.
The collector said the fire has been brought under control. The administration has taken possession of explosives stored at another location within the unit, he said.
The work to manufacture small firecrackers at the factory of a person named Anil Malviya had begun only 15 days ago, and a licence has been issued for the unit, the collector said.
A detailed investigation is underway into the incident, he added.
CM Yadav said, "I have directed Deputy Chief Minister and Dewas district guardian minister Jagdish Devda, the home secretary and senior officials to visit the spot. An inquiry has also been ordered into the incident."
Local residents said there was a massive explosion at the factory, and the victims' body parts were found scattered far away from the site.
They said construction work was underway at the site and different sheds were being built there.
