Rahane-Rohit rebuild innings, India 346/4 at tea
Melbourne, Dec 27 : Ajinkya Rahane and Rohit Sharma added 47 runs for the fifth wicket as India reached 346 for 4 at tea on day two of the third Test against Australia here on Thursday.
At the break, Rahane was batting on 30 not out, while Sharma was unbeaten on 13 runs, as the duo undertook a rebuilding job after Australia removed both Cheteshwar Pujara (106) and Virat Kohli (82) in the space of four overs.
Post lunch, Kohli-Pujara took their third-wicket partnership to 170 runs before the game turned.
The Indian skipper took medication for some back issue and then stepped through the gears as he brought out two pulls against Mitchell Starc (1/68) in the 123rd over.
He pressed on the accelerator a tad too much, and cut straight to third man, much to the bowler's delight to be dismissed for 82.
Four overs later, in the 126th, Pujara got a delivery from Pat Cummins (3/56) that kept a tad low and knocked back his stumps as India were suddenly reduced to 299/4.
Rahane then took charge of proceedings and played a breezy knock, not allowing the Australian attack to get on top.
In comparison, Rohit was more sedate and took his time at the crease, even as Tim Paine targeted him with some banter. There was not any major change in the pace of scoring though, with 36 runs coming in the first hour after lunch, and 33 runs in the second.
Earlier, Pujara scored his 17th hundred as India reached 277/2 at lunch.
Starting from overnight 215/2, India looked ready for another hard day's grind, with Kohli reaching his 20th Test half-century, off 110 balls, in the very first over of the day.
The two batsmen scored quickly in the first hour and kept the scorecard ticking over, before Australia went back to their tactic of cutting runs.
Cummins bowled another wonderful spell, extracting most out of the pitch than any other Australian bowler, and he beat the edges of both batsmen on a couple occasions but without any luck.
Nathan Lyon bowled with a predominantly leg-side field and into the batsmen. His duel with Pujara was quite remarkable, as the batsman kept turning him to the onside again and again.
On the rare occasion, Lyon pulled his length back and Pujara used his feet well and drove him to the offside against the turn. He played a couple of brilliant cover drives in this method and sped to his hundred in the second hour of play.
At the other end, Kohli had his moments. After being dropped on 47 on day one, he rode his luck flashing through the gap between slips and gully. He was beaten more than Pujara, but also mixed it with glorious drives, particularly one down the ground onside.
Australia kept a tight leash on the scoring rate as 62 runs came from 28 overs in this morning session. Even so, they could not deny Pujara who reached his second hundred of this series off 280 balls just before to lunch.
In doing so, he went past his previous best tally of runs scored in an overseas Test series. He had scored 309 runs in Sri Lanka in 2017, and currently has 325 runs in this ongoing series.
On day one, Mayank Agarwal (76) scored his maiden Test half-century after India won the toss and opted to bat.
The four-match series is pegged at 1-1, after India won the first Test in Adelaide by 31 runs and Australia took the second Test in Perth by 146 runs.
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Hasina's son claims Yunus govt weaponising judiciary for carrying out “political witch hunt”
Washington (PTI): Sanjeeb Wazed, son of deposed Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina, has accused the Muhammad Yunus led interim government of “weaponising the judiciary” for carrying out a “political witch hunt” against the Awami League leadership.
Wazed's allegations, as a long post on X, came two days after the interim government on Monday said it has sent a diplomatic note to New Delhi seeking Hasina's extradition from India.
Hasina, 77, has been living in India since August 5 when she fled Bangladesh following a massive student-led protest that toppled her Awami League's (AL) 16-year regime.
Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) has issued arrest warrants for Hasina and several former Cabinet ministers, advisers, and military and civil officials for “crimes against humanity and genocide.”
“The judges and prosecutors appointed by unelected Yunus led regime to conduct farcical trial process through International Crimes Tribunal makes it a political witch hunt that forsakes justice and marks another ongoing onslaught to persecute Awami League leadership,” Wazed said in his post on Tuesday.
An IT entrepreneur, Wazed is based in the US and has been an ICT adviser in Hasina's government.
“The kangaroo tribunal and subsequent request for extradition comes while hundreds of leaders and activists are extrajudicially killed, framing of outrageous murder charges, illegal incarceration of thousands by law enforcement and violent attacks including looting vandalism and arson going on with impunity everyday fuelled by denial of the regime,” he added.
On Monday, India confirmed receiving the 'note verbale' or diplomatic communication from the Bangladesh high commission in New Delhi but refrained from commenting on it.
Under the provisions of the India-Bangladesh extradition treaty, extradition may be refused if the offence is one of a “political character.”
Bangladesh's de facto foreign minister Touhid Hossain said Dhaka wants Hasina back to face the judicial process.
Wazed further accused that the chief prosecutor of ICT Tribunal Tajul Islam appointed by Yunus regime on December 22, despite proven records of defending war criminals, “reportedly spread deliberate disinformation campaign” against Hasina by claiming that Interpol issued red notice against her, and termed it as “a desperate bid to extradite her and hold farcical trial to serve the interest of Dr Yunus.”
“But the very prosecutor later altered his statement following media exposure of the outright lie and now officially sent a request to India for the extradition,” Hasina's son said.
“We reiterate our position that every single incident of human rights violation between July and August needs to be investigated in a free and fair manner but the Yunus led regime weaponised the judiciary, and we express no confidence in the justice system,” he alleged.
Last month, in an address to the nation on the completion of 100 days of the interim government, Yunus said Bangladesh will seek Hasina's extradition. “We must ensure justice in every killing… We will also ask India to send back fallen autocrat Sheikh Hasina,” he had said then.
Yunus, who assumed office on August 8, claimed that about 1,500 people, including students and workers, were killed while 19,931 others were wounded during the protest against the Hasina government.
India has expressed concern as there have been a spate of attacks on minorities including on the Hindu community in Bangladesh in the last few months.
In recent weeks, Hasina has accused the Yunus-led interim government of perpetrating “genocide” and failing to protect minorities, especially Hindus, since her ouster.
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri visited Dhaka two weeks back during which he conveyed to the Bangladeshi side India's concerns, especially those related to the safety and welfare of minorities.
