Rohit finds form with 73 as India manage 264 for 9 against Australia
_vb_95.jpeg)
Adelaide (PTI): Rohit Sharma mixed a lot of grit with some grace to score a potentially career-extending 73 on a spicy track that formed the cornerstone of India's decent total of 264 for 9 against Australia in the second ODI here on Thursday.
Courtesy Rohit's 97-ball knock and his 118-run stand for the third wicket with Shreyas Iyer (61 off 77 balls), India managed a fighting total after losing skipper Shubman Gill (9) and Virat Kohli (0) in quick succession.
Towards the back-end, Axar Patel (44 off 41 balls) did what Ravindra Jadeja has been doing for the Test team. His innings and a stand of 39 with a gutsy Washington Sundar (12) gave the bowlers something to bowl at.
Harshit Rana (24 not out) and Arshdeep Singh (13) added 37 off 29 balls for the ninth wicket to take the team score past the 260-run mark.
For Australia, Adam Zampa, back after attending the birth of his second baby, got 4 for 60 with most of the batters getting dismissed trying to attack him. Xavier Bartlett (3/39 in 10 overs), with the prized scalp of Kohli and a maiden over, also stood out.
However, the Indian innings was about Rohit's determination as he had to survive a lot of anxious moments in the Powerplay when Josh Hazlewood (0/29 in 10 overs, including two maidens) made the ball talk.
There was a point when Rohit had played 17 consecutive dot balls off Hazlewood and both him and Iyer looked overtly cautious due to the underlying moisture and lateral movement.
In case of Kohli, he was shaping for an outswinger but Bartlett got one to move in sharply after pitching and the maestro was caught plumb in front.
While leaving the ground, he acknowledged the fans at Adelaide, a venue where he has scored multiple Test hundreds and a World Cup century against Pakistan.
For Rohit, the first 50-odd balls were about consolidation and keeping the bat close to his body, trying to leave the deliveries on the length and taking a few on the body.
The only positive shot in that phase was a flicked boundary over square leg off Mitchell Starc.
The first time one got a glimpse of vintage Rohit was when he played back-to-back customary pick-up pulls off Mitchell Owen's friendly medium pacers.
India got 17 from that over and with Iyer also rotating the strike with an upright stance, the scoreboard suddenly saw movement and momentum.
The innings was, however, far from being silken smooth.
It was about a veteran, who wanted to make his naysayers eat humble pie. He was ready to grind it out and look ugly initially before eventually opening up.
The 2027 World Cup is far away but what Rohit intended to prove was that there is still some fuel left in the tank. Once the initial phase was negotiated, Rohit didn't look in any kind of discomfort.
There was enough time for a 33rd ODI hundred but the swivel off his hips while trying to deposit Starc over the square leg boundary became his undoing.
While Rohit got much-needed breathing space, Kohli continued to be under pressure and left the ground raising his fist for the Adelaide spectators who probably saw the last of him.
It is not the first time that Kohli scored consecutive ducks but it seems that the intensity that added to his legend has diminished considerably. India had lost the opening match of the three-game series by seven wickets in Perth.
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.
LoP Ashoka targets CM govt over corruption, says being 'shameless' in public life not forgivable
Bengaluru (PTI): Targeting Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and the Congress government in Karnataka on corruption, BJP leader R Ashoka on Friday said, being foolish was forgivable, but being "shameless" in public life was not.
The Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly claimed that in just 30 months of its tenure, the Congress administration has broken every previous record on corruption-related controversies.
He was responding to Siddaramaiah's post on 'X' on Thursday hitting back at the BJP, stating that Upa Lokayukta Justice Veerappa's claims of "63 per cent corruption" were based on his report in November 2019, when BJP's B S Yediyurappa was the CM.
"But Ashoka, without understanding the Upa Lokayukta's statement properly, has ended up tying the BJP's own bells of sins onto our heads and has effectively shot himself in the foot," the CM had said, as he accused Ashoka of foolishness for trying to twist Veerappa's statement to target the current government.
Responding, Ashoka said, "it is one thing to be called foolish in politics, that can be forgiven."
"But in public life, especially in the Chief Minister's chair, one must never become shameless," Ashoka posted on 'X' on Friday addressing Siddaramaiah.
Noting that the CM himself had admitted on the floor of the Assembly that a Rs 87 crore scam took place in the Valmiki Development Corporation, he said that when a CM acknowledges such a massive irregularity inside the floor of the House, the natural expectation is immediate action and accountability.
"But instead of taking responsibility, you continue in office as if nothing has happened. What should the people of Karnataka call this, if not sheer shamelessness," he asked.
Pointing out that the CM's Economic Advisor and senior Congress MLA Basavaraja Rayareddy had publicly stated that under Congress rule, Karnataka has become No.1 in corruption, Ashoka said, "Yet, you still cling to the Chief Minister's chair without a moment of introspection. What should the people of Karnataka call this, if not sheer shamelessness."
Senior Congress MLA C R Patil had exposed the "money for House" racket in the Housing Department and even warned that the government would collapse if the details he has were made public, Ashoka said.
"Despite such serious allegations from within your own party (Congress), you neither initiated an inquiry nor acted against the concerned minister. What should the people of Karnataka call this, if not sheer shamelessness," Ashoka asked the CM.
Highlighting the "40 percent commission" allegation Congress made against the previous BJP government, the opposition leader said, the commission that the Siddaramaiah government appointed concluded that the accusation was baseless.
"After your own panel demolished your own claim, what moral right do you have to continue repeating that allegation. What should the people of Karnataka call this, if not sheer shamelessness," he asked.
For the last two and a half years, Karnataka has been 'drowning' in corruption, scandals, irregularities and allegations across departments. Ashoka said, "If I begin listing every case that emerged under your government, even 24 hours would not be enough."
"And the most tragic aspect of your administration is this: the unbearable pressure, corruption demands and administrative harassment under your government pushed several officers and contractors into extreme distress - including the suicide of Chandrasekharan which exposed the Valmiki Development Corporation scam - a sign of how deeply broken the system has become under your watch," he said.
Instead of fixing this hopeless environment, the government has tried to bury every complaint and silence every voice, he charged.
"Being foolish is forgivable, but being shameless in public life is definitely not."
"When your own ministers admit scams, when your own advisors certify Karnataka as No.1 in corruption, and when your own MLAs expose rackets inside your departments - clinging to power without accountability is not leadership. It is shamelessness in its purest form." PTI KSU
Earlier on Thursday Ashoka had demanded that the corruption case and allegations in the state against the Congress government be handed over to a CBI investigation, citing a reported statement by Upalokaykta Justice Veerappa alleging "63 per cent corruption", following which Siddaramaiah hit back at the BJP leader.
