Rohit hits maiden Test double ton before Kohli's declaration at 497/9
Ranchi: Rohit Sharma slammed his maiden double hundred in Test cricket before India declared their first innings at 497 for nine in the third and final match against South Africa here on Sunday.
The second day's tea was also called when skipper Virat Kohli called his last two batsmen back to the dressing room, assured that his team is in control of the game.
Overnight 117, newly-promoted Test opener Rohit, who is also the only batsman to rack up three double hundreds in the ODI format with a world record 264, batted with nonchalance and reached his double century with a six, going from his tea score of 199 to 205 in style.
The 32-year-old smashed six sixes and 28 boundaries on the way to 212 from 255 balls, breaking a slew records in the process.
Rohit's masterful knock virtually overshadowed a fine effort by Ajinkya Rahane (115), who scored his first Test century at home in three years, and 11th overall.
Resuming on 224 for three, Rahane (83 overnight) looked fluent during his 192-ball knock that was studded with 17 fours and a six.
The duo of Rohit and Rahane spent four and half hours in the middle for a record 267-run fourth-wicket partnership, staging India's remarkable recovery after they were reduced to 39 for three on the first day.
That the partnership came at a healthy strike rate -- in 361 balls -- meant that India largely remained unaffected by the first day's rain interruption, which led to play being called off after only 58 overs, giving them a firm push for a 3-0 clean sweep.
After Rohit's departure less than 15 minutes into the second session, Ravindra Jadeja carried forward the momentum at number six, with a 51 off 119 balls.
There was a clear instruction to accelerate the scoring at the drinks break, forcing Jadeja to edge one behind the stumps while trying to play an expansive shot.
After Jadeja's departure, Umesh Yadav propped up the total by smashing five sixes on his way to a 10-ball 31.
Earlier, having dropped Rahane on 105, Heinrich Klaasen made amends by taking a good catch to give debutant George Linde his maiden Test scalp.
A glorious cover drive off Anrich Nortje set the tone for Rahane this morning as he collected three boundaries to enter the 90s before slowing down.
In between, Rahane was tested by Anrich Nortje with a bouncer and one sharp incoming delivery that struck him on his pad.
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Indian mobile hospital treats over 2,200 cyclone-hit people as New Delhi ramps up relief efforts in
Colombo (PTI): A mobile hospital set up by India in Sri Lanka has provided medical care to over 2,200 people affected by Cyclone Ditwah, as New Delhi ramped up its assistance to the flood-ravaged island nation with engineering support and delivery of fresh relief consignments, the Indian mission here said on Sunday.
Sri Lanka has been grappling with widespread flooding, landslides and severe infrastructure collapse triggered by the cyclone, leaving several districts isolated and severely straining the country's disaster-response capacity.
At least 627 people have been killed and 190 remain missing as of Sunday noon due to catastrophic floods and landslides caused by extreme weather conditions since November 16.
Sharing a social media post by the Ministry of External Affairs on its X handle, the Indian High Commission said a field hospital set up by India in Mahiyanganaya near Kandy has provided medical care to more than 2,200 people affected by the cyclone since December 5.
The hospital has also performed 67 minor procedures and three surgeries, it said. The field hospital was airlifted to Sri Lanka by an IAF C-17 aircraft along with a 78-member Indian medical team on Tuesday.
In another post, the mission said Indian Army engineers, working with Sri Lanka Army Engineers and the Road Development Authority, in Kilinochchi have begun removing a damaged bridge on the Paranthan–Karachchi–Mullaitivu (A35) road, a key route disrupted by the cyclone.
"This joint effort marks another step toward restoring vital connectivity for affected communities," it said.
India has additionally sent nearly 1,000 tonnes of food items and clothing contributed by the people of Tamil Nadu. Of these, about 300 tonnes reached Colombo on Sunday morning aboard three Indian Naval ships.
High Commissioner Santosh Jha handed over the supplies to Sri Lankan Minister for Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Cooperative Development Wasantha Samarasinghe.
India, on November 28, launched 'Operation Sagar Bandhu', a Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) initiative, to aid Sri Lanka in its recovery from the devastation caused by Cyclone Ditwah.
Since the launch of the operation, India has provided about 58 tonnes of relief material, including dry rations, tents, tarpaulins, hygiene kits, essential cloths, water purification kits and about 4.5 tonnes of medicines and surgical equipment, the Indian mission said in a press release on Sunday.
Another 60 tonnes of equipment, including generators, inflatable rescue boats, Outboard Motors, and excavators, have also been brought to Sri Lanka, it said, adding that 185 tonnes of Bailey Bridge units were airlifted to restore critical connectivity along with 44 engineers.
Two columns of the National Disaster Response Force, comprising 80 experts and K9 units with specially trained dogs, assisted with immediate rescue and relief efforts in Sri Lanka.
Besides the field hospital in Mahiyanganaya, medical centres have also been set up in the badly hit Ja-Ela region and in Negombo. INS Vikrant, INS Udaygiri, and INS Sukanya provided immediate rescue and relief assistance to Sri Lanka.
Apart from the two Chetak helicopters deployed from INS Vikrant, two heavy-lift, MI-17 helicopters of the Indian Air Force are actively involved in evacuations and airlifting relief material, the release said.
At the request of the Sri Lankan Disaster Management Centre, a virtual meeting was organised between DMC and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)'s National Remote Sensing Centre on Saturday.
Since the onset of the disaster, ISRO has been providing maps to assist DMC in its rescue efforts, the release said.
