Siraj gets Labuschagne on debut as India reduce Australia to 136/5
Melbourne: Debutant Mohammed Siraj removed a well-set Marnus Labuschagne as India made further inroads leaving Australia reeling at 136 for 5 at tea on the first day of the second 'Boxing Day' Test here on Saturday.
Labuchagne (48, 132 balls) and Travis Head (38, 92 balls) added 86 runs for the fourth wicket but Jasprit Bumrah (2/24 in 12 overs) and Siraj (1/25 in 9 overs) removed the duo in quick succession.
Their resistance was finally broken in the 42nd over when became Bumrah's second victim of the day, caught by skipper Ajinkya Rahane a gully as the batsman poked at a short ball outside off stump.
Introduced into the attack just after lunch, debutant Siraj proved to be a tad expensive, giving away 24 runs off six overs in his first spell.
But the pacer was lucky with his maiden scalp when a delivery that was drifting down the leg-side was glanced by Labuschagne to the other debutant Shubman Gill stationed at backward square leg. Gill took it inches off the ground.
His innings had for boundaries.
At the final break of the day, sskipper Tim Paine was batting on nought in the company of Cameroon Green (6). Earlier, senior off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin's double strike including that of Steve Smith was highlight of the first session.
Skipper Rahane made some impressive captaincy moves which enabled India gain the upper-hand on a track that offered turn and bounce on the first session of a Test match.
Bumrah struck for the visitors in the fifth over, removing Joe Burns for a duck as the batsman nicked a delivery that just moved a bit after hitting the seam to Rishabh Pant behind the stumps.
Introduced into the attack in the 11th over, Ashwin struck in his second over when Matthew Wade (30 off 39) went for a glory shot over square-leg, only to get a top-edge and Jadeja holding on to the catch despite a collision with an onrushing debutant Shubman Gill.
An over later, Ashwin was again on the money, this time accounting for the big fish Smith (0) as he got one that was tossed and the former skipper tried to glance one only to find new vice-captain Cheteshwar Pujara pouch it at leg gully.
Labuschagne did hit some good shots before the break but also looked a bit edgy in between. He survived a leg before decision when Ashwin trapped him with flight but the Umpires Review showed that the ball was missing the stumps.
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BJP worker’s 16-year-old son allegedly casts eight votes in Uttar Pradesh’s Farrukhabad; Video viral
Lucknow (Farrukhabad): A viral video has surfaced showing a 16-year-old son of a BJP worker allegedly casting eight votes to the saffron party during the ongoing general elections in Uttar Pradesh. The video has sparked controversy, and the opposition has urged for prompt action from the Election Commission of India, reports scroll.in.
The video shared by the Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav on micro-blogging site ‘X’, showed the youngster recording himself while casting multiple times in a series of instances. The incident reportedly took place in Khiri Pamaran village, which falls under the Aliganj Assembly constituency within the Farrukhabad parliamentary seat. Mukesh Rajput, the sitting MP, is the BJP candidate in this constituency. Polling in Farrukhabad occurred on May 13 during the fourth phase of the general election.
In the viral video, the youngster is seen casting eight votes in total, all for the BJP, one by one with different clippings.
The youngster in the video has been identified as Rajan Singh Thakur, confirmed his father, Anil Singh Thakur to the Scroll.in. Anil Singh Thakur is the gram pradhan (village head) of Khiri Pamaran and a member of the BJP.
Anil defending his son told the Scroll that the ‘Video misrepresented his son,’ and claimed that the voting was done when the machine was being tested in some instances and other clipping of him voting on behalf of mentally and physically disabled voters was merged and made into a video.
Despite the Anil's caims, the video has drawn significant criticism. Subhash Chandra Prajapati, the additional district magistrate of Farrukhabad, confirmed to the Scroll that the administration will file a case soon. He mentioned that the returning officer is investigating the matter following a directive from the chief electoral officer in Lucknow.
The opposition has been vocal in its criticism, with Akhilesh Yadav demanding action from the Election Commission. In his social media post, Yadav accused the BJP of undermining the electoral process and described the party's booth committee as a "loot committee." The Congress party also called on the Election Commission to take action, in a ‘X’ post the party wrote, “Dear Election Commission…are you watching..a boy is voting 8-8 times ... .at least wake up now.”
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, took to ‘X’ to express, “Fearing and seeing their defeat, the BJP is attempting to undermine democracy by pressuring government machinery to deny the mandate. The Congress expects all officers performing election duties to remember their constitutional responsibilities despite any pressure from those in power. Otherwise, once the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc government is formed, actions will be taken to ensure that anyone will think ten times before violating their 'Oath to the Constitution'."
Following the video's circulation, Naval Kishor Shakya, the Samajwadi Party candidate in Farrukhabad, filed a complaint with the district election officer. Shakya's complaint alleges that Rajan Singh Thakur cast votes after snatching voter information slips from other voters and that he was assisted by Dinesh Thakur, the local police station's station house officer. Shakya has called for re-polling at the affected polling center.
In a related incident earlier in May, Gujarat Police arrested two BJP workers for allegedly casting bogus votes and live-streaming the act on social media in the Dahod constituency. The Election Commission conducted re-polling at the affected booth following the incident.
The opposition INDIA bloc, including the Congress and the Samajwadi Party, has repeatedly accused the Election Commission of failing to take prompt action against election model code of conduct violations.
अपनी हार सामने देख कर भाजपा जनादेश को झुठलाने के लिए सरकारी तंत्र पर दबाव बना कर लोकतंत्र को लूटना चाहती है।
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) May 19, 2024
कांग्रेस चुनावी ड्यूटी कर रहे सभी अधिकारियों से यह अपेक्षा करती है कि वो सत्ता के दबाव के सामने अपनी संवैधानिक ज़िम्मेदारी न भूलें।
वरना INDIA की सरकार बनते ही ऐसी… https://t.co/fk4wXL8QZy
