Ranchi Test: Mohammad Shami puts India on brink of series whitewash against Proteas
Ranchi, Oct 21: India's bowlers, led by Mohammed Shami, pushed Virat Kohli and boys closer to a 3-0 whitewash as South Africa were left tottering at 132/8 at stumps on Day 3 after following on in the third and final Test at the JSCA Stadium on Monday.
At close of play, Dean Elgar's concussion substitute Theunis de Bruyn was batting on 30 with Anrich Nortje (5) for company. While Shami has figures of 3/10 in the second innings, Umesh Yadav has picked two as the Indian Pacers once again dominated the show.
Bundled out for just 162 in the first innings, the Proteas were forced to follow on and they trail India by 203 runs with just two wickets in the bag in their second essay. While bad light did force the players to go off the field after the Indians asked for an extra 30 minutes at the fall of the eighth wicket, the South Africans are only delaying the inevitable.
To make matters worse for the Proteas, Elgar had to retire hurt post a knock on the helmet by a rising Umesh delivery just before the Tea break. India too had an injury concern as Wriddhiman Saha got hit on the ring finger of his left hand late and was replaced by Rishabh Pant in the last session of the day.
Earlier, a total of 16 wickets fell on Monday after South Africa resumed at 9/2. Umesh returned with figures of 3/40 in the first essay while Shami, debutant Shahbaz Nadeem and Ravindra Jadeja all scalped two wickets apiece. Ace off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, however, remained wicketless. For the tourists, Zubayr Hamza top-scored with 62.
Following on, there was no respite for the visitors as it was Shami who once again looked in lethal rhythm. He clean-bowled Hamza (0) first and then trapped skipper Faf du Plessis (4) in front as the score read 18/3. But the pacer wasn't done and then sent back du Plessis' ''toss proxy'' Temba Bavuma for a duck, caught behind by wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha.
But the slide was started by Umesh when he sent opener Quinton de Kock's off-stump cartwheeling with a beauty as the Proteas T20I skipper played inside the line of the ball. At the tea break, South Africa were 26/4.
In the morning session, the tourists had the worst possible start as they lost skipper du Plessis to a peach of a delivery by Umesh. Overnight-batsman Hamza, however, opted for counter-attacking technique thereafter and along with Bavuma, scored freely and made sure the visitors didn't succumb to the pressure applied by the Indian bowlers.
Both Hamza and Bavuma collected boundaries at regular interval and kept the scoreboard moving. During the 91-run partnership, the 24-year-old Hamza went to score his maiden Test 50.
However, just when South Africa were looking like getting back into the game, Jadeja bowled a ripper to get past the bat of Hamza and brought an end to his 62-run knock. Bavuma didn't stay long at the crease thereafter and became the first international scalp of debutant Shahbaz Nadeem at his individual score of 32.
Wicketkeeper Heinrich Klaasen, who came in next, didn't trouble the scorers much and was bowled by Jadeja after contributing with six runs to South Africa total.
Brief Scores: India: 497/9 declared; South Africa: 162 all out (Zubayr Hamza 62, Temba Bavuma 32; Umesh Yadav 3/40) & 132/8 (following on) (Theunis de Bruyn 30*, Shami 3/10)
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Sharad Pawar praised RSS after seeing how it burst fake narrative balloon of LS polls: Fadnavis
Nagpur, Jan 10: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday said NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar praised the RSS after realising how the outfit managed to overcome the fake narrative spread by the opposition in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
The opposition had claimed BJP wanted to win 400 seats to change the Constitution and end reservations, a narrative which BJP leaders later claimed hit the party hard.
On Pawar praising the RSS recently, the CM said the MVA was successful in creating a fake narrative during the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
"When assembly polls were approaching, many people from diverse fields who are inspired by the RSS played their role and burst the balloon of this fake narrative. Sharad Pawar saheb is very intelligent. He would have certainly studied this aspect. He realised that this (RSS) is not a regular political power but a nationalist power. In any competition it is good to praise others," he added.
That is why Pawar may have praised the RSS, Fadnavis said.
Speaking at an interaction with senior editor Vivek Ghalsasi at Late Vilasji Fadnis Jivhala programme here, Fadnavis also said he had asked for organisational work when Eknath Shinde was made chief minister in June 2022, but senior leaders asked him to join the government.
He also said Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked him not to behave like an extra-constitutional authority in the government.
He said the decision to become deputy chief minister on the command of the party leadership earned him a lot of praise from the cadre.
After the massive mandate the ruling alliance received in the 2024 assembly polls, Fadnavis said people and party workers would not have been happy if the CM was not from the BJP.
Shinde himself agreed within minutes that the CM must be from the BJP, which itself got 132 seats and was close to a majority of its own in the 288-member assembly, he added.
On Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray meeting him during the winter sessions of the legislature in Nagpur, Fadnavis said he had announced he would not indulge in politics of revenge after becoming CM and all leaders responded positively to it.
On chances of the NCP (SP) and NCP coming closer or reuniting, Fadnavis said, "If you see the developments that took place from 2019 to 2024, I realised never say never and anything can happen. Uddhav Thackeray goes to some other party and Ajit Pawar comes to us. In politics anything can happen though I am not saying this should happen."
He praised BJP leader Arun Gujarati from whom he learnt patience, which he claimed was an important quality in politics along with the ability to take criticism.
In a lighter vein, he said, "I only get angry when I am hungry. If you see me angry then give me something to eat and my anger will go away."
