Rizwan's gritty 60 holds up England, Pakistan gets to 223-9
Southampton: Mohammad Rizwan scored a gritty, unbeaten half-century to guide Pakistan past 200 against an increasingly frustrated England before bad light at the Rose Bowl brought an early end to the second day of the second Test on Friday.
The teams went off the field before tea because of the gloom, with Pakistan on 215-8, and reappeared for only another nine balls, during which Stuart Broad took his third wicket of the innings and the tourists moved to 223-9. The umpires took another meter reading and took the players off again for good this time.
Rizwan will return on Saturday on 60, the wicketkeeper's second-highest test score, alongside Naseem Shah (1).
England looked all set on wrapping up the Pakistan innings, which resumed on Friday on 126-5, after star batsman Babar Azam (47) edged behind a brilliant ball from Broad that seamed and squared up Babar.
That made the score 158-6 and two more wickets fell for 18 runs, with Yasir Shah (5) flashing at a delivery from Jimmy Anderson and edging to give wicketkeeper Jos Buttler another catch. Shaheen Afridi (0) was run out by Dom Sibley at the non-striker's end after a mix-up.
England's seam bowling unraveled in the final half-hour before the enforced tea, with the field set by captain Joe Root perhaps too negative under threatening skies and with two lower-order batsmen in the middle. On occasions, there were five or six out near the boundary as Root spread the field.
Anderson has the best bowling figures, with 3-48. Broad had 3-56.
The tourists trail 1-0 in the three-match series after losing the first match by three wickets in Manchester. Another victory for England will clinch a first test series against Pakistan in 10 years, and a second series of this pandemic-affected summer having already beaten the West Indies.
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Chhattisgarh Vedanta power plant blast: Death toll rises to 20; sixteen workers undergoing treatment
Sakti (Chhattisgarh) (PTI): The death toll in a blast at the Vedanta power plant in Chhattisgarh's Sakti district has mounted to 20 with seven more workers succumbing to injuries, while 16 others are undergoing treatment at different hospitals, officials said on Wednesday.
The deceased include six labourers from West Bengal, five from Chhattisgarh, three each from Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh, two from Bihar, and one from Madhya Pradesh.
The opposition Congress has demanded registration of an FIR against the plant management and a judicial inquiry into the incident.
The explosion occurred on Tuesday afternoon in a steel tube carrying high-pressure steam from the boiler to the turbine at the Vedanta Ltd power plant located in Singhitarai village, leaving several workers with severe burn injuries.
According to officials, four workers died on the spot, while nine others succumbed to injuries soon after the incident.
Seven more workers have died in hospitals, raising the toll to 20, Sakti Collector Amrit Vikas Topno told PTI on Wednesday.
He said that a total of 36 workers were affected in the blast, and 20 of them died.
"Of the 16 injured workers, five are undergoing treatment in hospitals in Raipur, while 11 others are in hospitals of Raigarh, the neighbouring district of Sakti," he added.
Topno added that every possible effort was being made to provide the best medical treatment to the injured.
The deceased were identified, and their family members are being contacted. Arrangements have been made to transport the mortal remains to their native villages via ambulance following the postmortem examination and to provide immediate financial assistance, he said.
Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai has announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh to the families of each deceased worker and Rs 50,000 for those injured.
Vedanta Power has also announced a Rs 35 lakh compensation for the family of each deceased worker, along with employment support.
The company will also provide Rs 15 lakh to each injured person, ensure salary continuation until recovery, and offer counselling support, a statement from the plant management said.
The chief minister has ordered an inquiry by the Commissioner of the Bilaspur division, assuring strict action against the guilty.
He directed officials to ensure free and proper medical treatment for all injured and emphasised that no negligence in their care would be tolerated.
The district administration has also ordered a separate magisterial probe, while the company has initiated its own internal investigation.
Collector Topno has appointed the Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) of Dabhra to conduct the magisterial inquiry.
The SDM has been asked to submit a report within 30 days covering key aspects, including the cause of the accident, whether it was due to technical or human error, and details of safety inspections carried out at the plant.
Meanwhile, the opposition Congress has demanded registration of an FIR against the plant management and a judicial inquiry into the incident.
State Congress communication wing head Sushil Anand Shukla on Wednesday alleged negligence on the plant management's part and accused the government of attempting to shield those responsible.
He also demanded compensation of Rs 1 crore for the families of the deceased and Rs 50 lakh for the injured.
The construction of a 1,200 MW coal-based thermal power project (two units of 600 MW each) in Singhitarai, originally owned by Athena Chhattisgarh Power Ltd, started in 2009, but remained stalled between 2016 and 2022.
Vedanta acquired the plant in 2022, after which a 600 MW unit was completed and commissioned in August last year, while the second unit is still under construction.
The deceased have been identified as Amrit Lal Patel, Thanda Ram Lahre, Udhab Singh Yadav, Rameshwar Mahilange, and Nadeem Ansari (all from Chhattisgarh); Susanta Jana, Sheikh Saifuddin, Manas Giri, Kailash Mahto, Shibnath Murmu, and Dipankar Singh (West Bengal), Tarun Kumar Ojha, Abdul Karim and Ashok Parhiya (Jharkhand), Raju Ram, Pappu Kumar and Brijesh Kumar (Uttar Pradesh), Aakib Khan and Ritesh Kumar (Bihar), and Chitranjan Dhulai of Madhya Pradesh, officials said.
