Virat Kohli skips pink-ball warm-up game, India opt to bat
Sydney, Dec 11: India captain Virat Kohli on Friday opted out of the day-night warm-up game against Australia A, deciding to give his body some rest after having played in all the preceding limited-overs matches.
India won the toss and elected to bat in the three-day game that started here on Friday.
With Kohli sitting out of the pink-ball tour match, the seasoned Ajinkya Rahane is leading the team at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
The game is more of a simulation ahead of the series opening day-night Test, which will be played with a pink ball from December 17 to 21 at Adelaide.
The touring Indians don't have enough experience of facing the pink ball in top-flight cricket, having played only one such Test against Bangladesh last year.
India though won that game, held at the Eden Gardens, by a handsome margin of innings and 46 runs.
Australia have played in quite a few pink-ball day-nighters over the last few years.
After Adelaide, the matches will be played at Melbourne (from December 26 to 30), Sydney and Brisbane in January.
Four members of Australia's Test squad are playing in the tour game opening batsman Joe Burns, all-rounder Cameron Green, pace bowler Sean Abbott and leg-spinner Mitchell Swepson.
India are coming into the game after having won the T20I series 2-1 following a loss in the ODI rubber by a similar margin.
Teams:
India: Ajinkya Rahane (captain), Prithvi Shaw, Mayank Agarwal, Shubman Gill, Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant, Wriddhiman Saha, Navdeep Saini, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah.
Australia A: Joe Burns, Marcus Harris, Nic Maddinson, Ben McDermott, Cameron Green, Jack Wildermuth, Alex Carey, Sean Abbott, Will Sutherland, Mitch Swepson, Harry Conway.
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Delhi Polls: BJP faces protest, placates MLA amid resentment over ticket distribution
New Delhi, Jan 12: Resentment surfaced in the BJP on Sunday over ticket distribution for Delhi Assembly polls, with a protest held outside its Delhi unit office and an angry outburst by the outgoing MLA from Karawal Nagar who was not included in the candidate list released a day earlier.
As MLA Mohan Singh Bisht threatened to revolt after being denied a ticket from Karawal Nagar, the party rushed to control the damage and announced his candidature from the Mustafabad seat this evening.
A group of protesters from Tughlakabad in South Delhi held a dharna at the gate of the Delhi BJP office, demanding a change in the candidate from the constituency.
"Vikram Bidhuri Tum Sangharsh Karo; Modi Se Bair Nahi, Rohtas Teri Khair Nahi," the protesters, including mostly youngsters, chanted as the party leaders tried to pacify them.
In the second list of BJP candidates for the polls declared on Saturday, Rohtas Bidhuri was fielded from the Tughlakabad seat. In 2020 Assembly polls, Vikram Bidhuri who is a relative of senior party leader Ramesh Bidhuri, lost to AAP's Sahiram by over 13,000 votes.
A similar protest was also held by some party workers outside the Delhi BJP office against Mehrauli candidate Gajainder Yadav after the announcement of the first list of candidates earlier this month.
Bisht, the senior-most BJP MLA in the outgoing Assembly elected five times from Karawal Nagar, openly expressed unhappiness over being denied the ticket to contest from his stronghold.
A senior party leader said he was pacified after a meeting with BJP chief JP Nadda.
Bisht, after getting the ticket from Mustafabad, expressed confidence that he would win the seat for the BJP.
"I met the national president and things were ironed out. I have assured that I will contest from Mustafabad and win the seat for the party," Bisht told PTI.
The MLA said he and the BJP had considerable support in Mustafabad and he has already attended two public meetings there.
The BJP won the Mustafabad seat, having a significant minority community presence, in the 2015 Assembly polls but lost it to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in 2020.
Earlier in the day, Bisht told PTI that the party's decision to replace him with Kapil Mishra was "wrong" and its consequences will be visible after voting on February 5.
"You have challenged the 'samaj' (his Uttarakhandi community), not Mohan Singh Bisht. The BJP will lose at least 8-10 seats because of this decision, including Karawal Nagar, Burari, Mustafabad and Gokalpuri," Bisht warned.
The BJP fielded Kapil Mishra, a Hindutva hardliner, from Karwal Nagar in North East Delhi, which was rocked by massive communal violence just after the 2020 Assembly polls.
Sources in the party claimed that there was also "deep resentment" among the Delhi BJP's Scheduled Castes Morcha leaders over being denied tickets from different constituencies including Madipur and Kondli.
A top Delhi BJP functionary stressed that there are many ticket aspirants, so it is natural for those who did not get selected to feel disappointed.
"The BJP is a disciplined party and its leaders understand this. Sooner or later, everyone will realise this and work for the victory of the party giving up their resentment," he said.
The elections to 70 Assembly seats in Delhi are scheduled on February 5. Results will be out after the counting of votes on February 8.
The BJP, out of power in Delhi since 1998, is making all-out efforts to return to power. In the 2015 and 2020 Assembly polls, the party was completely routed by the AAP, scraping through with just three and eight seats, respectively.
