India on top in Indore test despite sloppy catching
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - A dominant India remained on course for a big first innings lead after skittling out Bangladesh for a meagre 150 runs despite some sloppy catching on day one of the opening test yesterday.
The hosts lost opener Rohit Sharma for six in their reply but finished the day on 86-1 with Cheteshwar Pujara and Mayank Agarwal putting on 72 runs for the flourishing second-wicket partnership.
Pujara was batting on 43 with seven boundaries. Agarwal was lucky to reach 37 after being dropped in the slip by Imrul Kayes when on 32.
Earlier, Mominul Haque won the toss in his first match as Bangladesh’s new test captain but his decision to bat immediately backfired.
India’s three-pronged pace attack exploited the early morning conditions and reduced them to 31-3 at the Holkar Cricket Stadium.
After repeatedly beating the tentative bats of both the openers, Umesh Yadav drew first blood in the sixth over, getting Imrul caught in the slip for six.
Ishant Sharma sent back Shadman Islam in the next over before Mohammed Shami trapped Mohammad Mithun lbw for 13 to wreck the top order.
Mominul and Mushfiqur Rahim combined pluck and luck to forge the only 50plus partnership in the Bangladesh innings.
Mominul was on three when he was spilled in the slip by Ajinkya Rahane, otherwise a safe catcher who had a terrible day, off Ravichandran Ashwin.
Mushfiqur was dropped twice, first by Virat Kohli and then by Rahane, who also dropped Mahmudullah off Ashwin.
Ashwin spared himself any more heartbreak by bowling out Mominul, who made 37, and Mahmudullah.
A much-relieved Rahane, sporting a sheepish smile, ran to congratulate Ashwin after the spinner sent back Mahmudullah.
Shami (3-27) dismissed Mushfiqur, who made 43, and Mehidy Hasan Miraz in the last two balls before the tea break though Taijul Islam denied him a hat-trick after tea.
“I had to think of the conditions and situation and try to keep my line as tight as possible and stick to my plans,” Shami told broadcaster Star Sports afterwards.
“I have been bowling from wide of the crease in the last two years and I once again backed myself.” (Reuters) - Football has long mixed with politics in South America but the refusal of Chilean players to play a friendly against Peru in sympathy with anti-government protesters has taken action and awareness to a new level.
The Chilean football association called off the Peru match on Wednesday when players said they would not travel to Lima.
“We are footballers but before that we are people and citizens,” captain Gary Medel said on Instagram. “We know we represent the entire country and today Chile has much more important priorities than next Tuesday’s match. The more important game is equality and changing things so that all Chileans can live in a fairer country.”
The decision comes after almost a month of protests that began over a rise in metro prices and spread to encompass myriad grievances linked to inequality.
Millions of Chileans have taken to the streets, with at least 23 people killed and thousands hospitalised after clashes with police and army.
The movement is the biggest since the fall of right-wing dictator Augusto Pinochet in 1990 and several Chilean players have posted support online, including Medel, Manchester City goalkeeper Claudio Bravo and Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Charles Aranguiz.
Chile is no stranger to football and politics coming together.
A portion of the country’s National stadium is fenced off as a permanent reminder of the people detained and tortured there by Pinochet’s soldiers in the 1970s.
The current league campaign has been halted nearly a month due to security concerns as the protests rage and officials do not know when it will end.
However, the decision not to travel to an away game is unprecedented and shows the intensity of the anger.
“Chile played here in the 1983 Copa America in the midst of huge protests against Pinochet,” Danilo Diaz, a columnist with the El Mercurio newspaper, told Reuters. “If they played then I can’t see why it is a problem to play now.
“I think the players are a bit afraid of the virulence of the reaction on social media. They are concerned about their friends and families.”
Chile’s women’s team last weekend played a double header against Australia, with no obvious backlash.
The players posed ahead of the first match holding a small poster that read “Chilean democracy tortures, rapes, maims and kills its citizens. (President) Pinera out”.
The protest was shared by the players on social media and Diaz believes the men missed a trick by not following their example.
“They could have made it political by taking a banner on to the pitch in support of the protesters,” he said.
“So far 23 people have died and it could be 24 by next week. They could have told the Peruvian players and the referee, we’ll stop the game in the 24th minute in tribute to those who died. That would have made headlines around the world.”