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'He's watching from mid-on as his junior partners are...' Shubman Gill's bold call raises Ravi Shastri's eyebrows, but Akash Deep proves former India coach wrong
Having done all the hard work, Team India is now seeking to put an exclamation point on the 2nd Test. They are just four wickets away from scripting a famous win at Edgbaston against England. With considerable time left on Day 5, one would expect Indian bowlers to get the job done. However, the unpredictable weather in Birmingham can thwart India from going 1-1 in the series. The rain did have a say in the morning, because of which the start was delayed and an hour of play was wasted. Nevertheless, bowlers especially Akash Deep did not take time in pouncing authority over the English batters. Deep struck early and sent both Ollie Pope and Harry Brook back home. In the process, he proved former India head coach Ravi Shastri wrong.
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Also Read | Akash Deep's dream delivery to get rid of Joe Root at Edgbaston courts controversy; here's why
Akash Deep proves Ravi Shastri wrong
While doing his duty as a broadcaster, Ravi Shastri expressed astonishment when Mohammed Siraj was not put into attack straightaway. According to Shastri, being the bowler with the most wickets in this match, Siraj deserved to bowl from the outset. Siraj was made to wait as India captain Shubman Gill entrusted Prasidh Krishna and Akash Deep to begin the proceedings for India with the ball on Day 5.
'Mohammed Siraj, six in the first innings, one in the second. He's watching from mid-on as his junior partners are bowling. He'd be hoping they strike, otherwise, he would be itching to get the ball.'
While the move did not make sense to Shastri, Akash Deep gave him no reason to further doubt. Deep's twin strike early in the session put England in deep trouble.
Also Read | Ex-England cricketer hails Gill, Pant for seamless transition in Indian Test team: 'The King is dead, long live the King'
Stokes-Smith tries to resurrect but Washy breaks the stand
After the dismissal of Pope and Brook, England captain Ben Stokes and first-innings hero Jamie Smith put in a cautious 70-run stand. The partnership for the 6th wicket took the hosts past the 150-run mark but the relief was short-lived. Just at the stroke of lunch, Washington Sunday got Ben Stokes plumb in front. With Stokes' wicket, England's chances of survival have further dwindled. They cannot win as the target of 608 is beyond reach. Thus, India are in the driver's seat and require just four more wickets to open their account in the 5-match series.
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India Today
15 minutes ago
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Magnus Carlsen trolls haters after Grand Chess Tour Zagreb win, deletes post later
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Indian Express
15 minutes ago
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Indian Express
15 minutes ago
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Gukesh settles for pragmatic 3rd place; Magnus Carlsen shrugs and clucks his way to Zagreb victory
A gruelling 27 games over five days that had more ebbs and flows than a theme park roller-coaster ended with 19-year-old Classical World Champion D. Gukesh vanquishing his past struggles in speed chess, securing a creditable third-place finish at the Grand Chess Tour SuperUnited Rapid and Blitz Croatia in Zagreb on Sunday. After dominating the Rapid event as the sole leader with a comfortable three-point lead over Jan-Krzysztof Duda, Gukesh's campaign nearly derailed in the Blitz segment, where he lost seven out of nine rounds, including five consecutive defeats on Saturday. When Wesley So and Nodirbek Abdusattorov handed him two more losses to start his final day, Gukesh's tilt seemed just unstoppable, until he faced Duda. The salvation came from an unlikely source, his own World Championship Second, and the in-form Polish Grandmaster Duda. Duda, who led 2-0 from their Rapid and first Blitz encounter, seemed poised to deliver the knockout blow. He knew Gukesh's game inside out, having played over 300 training blitz games with him during World Championship preparations at the request of Gukesh's main trainer and fellow Polish player Grzegorz Gajewski. Duda looked ready to bury Gukesh's hopes for good. But the Indian, stripped of his lead and pushed out of the top three spots by then, had no time to dwell on past collapses. Gukesh, playing purely on merit, dismantled Duda in just 28 moves, which, in a way, reignited his campaign and paved the way for his eventual podium finish. Then came the marquee clash against Magnus Carlsen. For two fighters like Gukesh and Carlsen, a draw is never an option. History stands witness to their shared refusal to draw offers, whether Gukesh declining the threefold repetition against Ding Liren en route to his World Championship triumph, or Carlsen's legendary endgame grinds. Yet Sunday demanded different calculations. With podium contention at stake, the Indian needed stability, while the Norwegian, comfortably leading the field, sought to preserve his advantage. What followed was the unlikeliest of games from Gukesh, an antithesis to his aggressive nature. READ MORE: Story of Magnus Carlsen and Gukesh's tournament in Zagreb in numbers as world no 1 wins and world champ ends 3rd Gukesh opted for pragmatism and went for a 'Grandmaster's draw' with white pieces, finishing the game in just 14 moves and under a minute. Gukesh went on to beat Ivan Saric and Fabiano Caruana, making a strong case for a second-place finish. The final round was full of drama. Gukesh, Duda and Wesley So were all tied at 19 points, fighting for second place. Duda lost to Anish Giri, which helped Gukesh's chances. At the same time, Wesley So was losing to Caruana but won after Caruana missed a winning move in the all-American clash. Gukesh could only draw against Praggnanandhaa, resulting in So placing ahead of him in the end. Nonetheless, Gukesh pocketed eight GCT points and $25,000 while Praggnanandhaa saw a freefall, losing six rounds and going winless on the last day to finish ninth. READ MORE: Third battle of war between Gukesh and 'survival mode' Magnus Carlsen ends in 14 moves and lasts just over one minute Playing what Carlsen himself described as 'survival' chess using an 'old man's chess' approach, he did considerably well to outscore a formidable field for his 10th Grand Chess Tour Rapid and Blitz title out of 12 appearances. Carlsen finished with 22.5 points, a 2.5-point lead over runner-up So and won with a round to spare. Yet for a player of his stature, this win brought unexpected indifference. 'It does not really feel like I won, it feels like I just came here, played alright and nobody really did anything special in the end and I ended up winning,' Carlsen told broadcasters. He finished third in the Rapid events and was four points behind Gukesh ahead of the Blitz event. Attributing his win to a single strong performance, Carlsen said, 'I had one good day really which was yesterday and that turned out to be enough which was a little bit lucky but it speaks the fact that it's a fairly even tournament overall where nobody could really break away from the pack.' Chess legend Garry Kasparov couldn't resist a playful jab at Carlsen's self-described 'old man chess,' tweeting: 'Not bad for 'old man chess!'' Carlsen, meanwhile, in his signature cryptic style, posted a GIF of a pin dropping with the simple caption: 'Haters.'
