Rohit closing in on ton as India reach 151/3 at lunch
Nagpur (PTI): Skipper Rohit Sharma showed a lot of composure to inch towards his ninth Test hundred with India reaching 151 for 3 at lunch against Australia on the second day of the opening Test, here on Friday.
At the break, Rohit was batting on 85 off 142 balls with 12 boundaries and two sixes to his credit. Virat Kohli (12 batting), giving him company, also looked in ominous touch as the Australian bowling didn't look threatening despite getting a couple of wickets -- Ravichandran Ashwin (23) and Cheteshwar Pujara (7) -- during the session.
The idea will be bat the next two sessions and build a sizeable lead to finish the match inside three days. The pitch, however, hasn't shown signs of any further deterioration from what it was on the first day.
Australia captain Pat Cummins (0/41 in 8 overs) had set the bait for his opposite number with a deep fine leg and deep mid-wicket fielder but bowled fuller during his morning spell.
Rohit brought his favourite pull shot out of the closet during the Australian skipper's second spell when a delivery was dug in short.
In fact, the low bounce made it easier to defend as both Rohit and Ashwin, during their 42-run stand, often plonked their front foot to frustrate the bowlers.
However, the slowness of the track did affect the Australian bowlers as both off-spinners, Nathan Lyon (0/66 in 20 overs) and Todd Murphy (3/35 in 15 overs), had to bowl quicker in order to get some purchase from the track.
The slowness could be best gauged from the fact that Australia's second pacer Scott Boland (0/7 in 9 overs), who normally bowls upward of 135 clicks, asked wicket-keeper Alex Carey to keep up to him in order to prevent the batters from using their feet. Boland, though, bowled like a workhorse and kept the batters quiet at one end.
Against spinners, there was no problem in easily rocking onto the back foot and playing on both sides of the wicket.
Ashwin looked confident as he slog swept Lyon for a six and finally it was Murphy, who came round the wicket, bowled one that pitched on the leg-middle line and straightened enough to find the batter's pads.
Cheteshwar Pujara, would curse himself for bringing about his downfall to a Murphy delivery which was anything but a wicket-taking one.
It was a tossed-up delivery on the imaginary 'fifth leg-stump' and Pujara swept it for Boland, standing at '45', to take an easy catch.
Kohli came and immediately made his presence felt with a drive for four off Murphy. He also played a bowler's back-drive off Lyon during the session.
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K’taka HC judge whose controversial remarks triggered controversy expresses regret before open court
Bengaluru: Karnataka High Court judge, Justice V Srishananda, on Saturday expressed regret in open court after facing backlash over his controversial remarks in his recent court hearings, reported Bar and Bench.
Two purported video clips from Justice V Srishananda’s court hearing that show him making inappropriate comments went viral across social media platforms.
On Saturday, Justice Srishananda invited members of the Advocates Association, Bengaluru, and senior lawyers to his courtroom at 2:30 PM, where he read out a note expressing regret for inappropriate comments.
Quoting Advocates Association President Vivek Subba Reddy, Bar and Bench wrote, “He expressed regret for the comments and clarified that it was not his intention to offend any community or members of the Bar. He also requested the association to relay this message to all members of the Bar.”
Reddy further stated, “We also advised him to encourage young lawyers in the courtroom and refrain from making any irrelevant remarks during hearings.”
Another senior lawyer present during the session confirmed to the legal news portal that Justice Srishananda also addressed comments directed at a woman lawyer, who was seen in one of the videos being reprimanded by the judge. The judge Justice Srishananda clarified that his remarks were not intended to target her (woman lawyer) specifically, but rather pertained to the appellant she was representing. “He explained that his comment was meant to imply that the appellant seemed to know a lot about the other party,” said the lawyer.
In addition, Justice Srishananda assured those present that he would avoid making such comments in the future.
The controversy came to light on September 19, when a video clip from an August 28 Court hearing surfaced on social media, showing Justice Srishananda referring to a Muslim-majority sub-locality in Bengaluru’s Goripalya as "Pakistan." Hours later, another video from the same courtroom emerged, in which the judge was seen making a gender-insensitive remark.
Following outrage over the viral videos, a Supreme Court bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, along with Justices Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai, Surya Kant, and Hrishikesh Roy, on September 20 took a suo motu cognizance and sought a report from the Karnataka High Court Registrar General in connection with the viral video.
