Oval pitch will assist spinners, a good venue for India: Sachin Tendulkar
London (PTI): Batting legend Sachin Tendulkar said the spin-friendly nature of the Oval pitch will make India a confident side going into the World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia from Wednesday.
With India boasting of two wonderful spinners to choose from in R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, Tendulkar said the team can take a lot of heart from the pitch factor.
"The Indian team will be happy that they are playing at the Oval. The nature of the Oval pitch is such that it assists the spinners as the match goes on. So, spinners will come into play a little bit.
"It need not be always a turning track as sometimes the spinners rely a lot on the bounce, sometimes that little bit of zip that they get off the pitch, also on the overhead conditions and it depends a lot on the shiny side of the ball.
"If they are able to get that drift, they can make the ball talk in the air without the pitch coming into play. So, Oval is going to be good venue for India," said Tendulkar in his website 100mbsports.
India will also carry a positive vibe when they enter the Oval as their last outing at this venue had resulted in an emphatic win a 157-run romp against England in 2021. Tendulkar said good memories of that match will burn bright and will spur the Indians.
"100 per cent. Whenever you have such memories, they will stay with you. The Indian team would not have forgotten that the last time they played there (the Oval), they had a superb outing. They won the game and as I said good memories stay long with you," said Tendulkar.
Similarly, England had towelled the Aussies by 135 runs in the 2019 Ashes Test here, and Tendulkar said they might just be hurting a bit. However, the batting maestro added that the Australians can be an extremely competitive side.
"Bruises take some time to heal. But Australia is a beautiful team as they have a balanced squad. There are guys who have been around for a long time now and some young faces as well.
"It is a nice blend of youth and experience. Australia have always been competitive and whether they have a full squad or not, once they cross that rope they are going to be very competitive," said Tendulkar.
Tendulkar said the extensive County stint that Cheteshwar Pujara and Marnus Labuschagne recently had will come handy for their teams in the big game.
"Of course, playing in County cricket can be of great value. Both Pujara and Labuschagne had considerable outing in the County cricket recently. Smith not as much as the other two, but whatever match practice one can get is very handy because the conditions are different.
"Our guys have played T20 and now they have gone to England, so are some players from Australia as they were playing T20 here but I believe playing practice matches... no better practice than that," he said.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Stripped to identify religion, ears cut off: Muslim hawker from Bihar dies a week after lynching
Police deny religious angle in the case
Patna: Mohammed Athar Hussain, a 55-year-old Muslim cloth vendor, tragically died on Friday, a week after sustaining severe injuries in a horrific lynching, reported The Print.
Hussain, who made his living by selling clothes on a bicycle in the rural areas of Nawada for the last decade, is survived by his wife, Shabnam Parveen, and three children.
Before his death at a government hospital, Hussain recorded a video statement.
In the video, which is doing rounds on social media platforms, Hussain alleged that four men initially locked him in a room. They later returned late at night and, stripped him to find out his religion, identifying him as a "miyan ji" (a Muslim). He claimed the assailants then poured petrol on him, branded him with a hot iron rod, and used pliers to cut off his ear.
Furthermore, he stated, "The assault continued as some were beating with sticks, while others were using pliers to cut off my fingers and ear."
Speaking to The Print, his brother, Mohammed Shaqib, described the shock of seeing his elder brother's picture injured, telling that the family had been dealt a blow from which it would never recover.
No mention of lynching in FIR
Meanwhile, quoting Nawada Sadar SDPO Hulas Kumar, The Print reported that while the victim made serious allegations, his wife did not document the specific claim that her husband was stripped to determine his religion in her initial police complaint, dated December 6.
Furthermore, a senior police official in Patna denied this was a religious lynching, instead terming it a case of "mistaken identity" where the deceased was assaulted under suspicion of theft.
Bihar Director General of Police (DGP) Vinay Kumar confirmed that both the murder case against the assailants and a separate theft complaint, filed by one of the accused against Hussain, are being probed to reach a logical conclusion.
The DGP told The Print that while the theft case is being investigated, the focus is clearly more on the lynching case.
Following Hussain's death, Nawada Police upgraded the charges, adding Section 103 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which deals with the offense of murder.
According to reports, police have successfully arrested nine people in connection with the assault, including four individuals specifically named in the FIR filed by Hussain’s wife.
One of the nine accused, Sikandar Yadav, is the same man who accused Hussain of theft, claiming that this accusation led to the assault.
The statements given by arrested suspects, including Sree Yadav and Ranjan Kumar, reportedly led police to the remaining five accused.
Further probe in this regard is underway.
