1st Test, Day 2: India vs New Zealand - As it happened...

Second day of the first Test also belonged to the home side, as first their skipper Brendon McCullum went on to score a double ton to take their team's score past 500 in the first innings. And when the Kiwi bowlers came to bowl, they kept India reeling at ten for three at one stage. And as the day's play called off a bit early due to bad light, India were struggling at 130 for four. For India Rohit and Rahane are at the crease.

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India 1st innings

The play has been called off due to bad light.

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Over 39 || Score 130/4

A bit of relief for India as in the last ten overs they haven't lost a wicket as both the batsmen – Rohit and Ajinkya – are playing sensibly. Now along with Rohit, Rahane is also settling down. Rohit is playing on 67, whereas Rahane is on 23. Meanwhile, due to bad light, the match has been stopped.

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Over 32 || Score 107/4

In the 32nd over Rohit Sharma took a single off Southee to complete his fifty. It's certainly a gutsy half-century by the talented lad. He used 74 delivers to reach the mark, studded with seven handsome boundaries. India require a big knock form the Mumbai batsman. Ajinkya Rahane is playing along with him as India lost their top order batsmen in quick successions. Meanwhile, India also crossed the mark of 100 runs in 31st over.

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Over 22 || Score 71/4

Murali Vijay Out. It's so far the best delivery of the day. Vijay looked clueless, as his bail flew in the air. What a delivery by Wanger. Murali Vijay got the start but once again failed to capitalise on it to score a big knock. He scored 26 runs in 60 balls before getting out. India is in deep trouble. Ajinkya Rahane is the new man in after the fall of fourth Indian wicket.

M Vijay b Wagner 26 (60b)

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Over 18 || Score 45/3

After losing three quick wickets, Murali Vijay and Rohit Sharma are playing sensible cricket. They are shouldering the balls pitching outside off, but at the same time leaving no opportunity to score on loose deliveries. At the moment Rohit is batting on 16, whereas opener Vijay is on 22.

Indian squad for T20 World Cup, Asia Cup to be picked in Bangalore

The squad for World T20 championship and the Asia Cup are to be picked during the Irani Cup match in Bangalore (from February 9-13 between Ranji champions Karnataka and Rest of India) where all five selectors would be present. The deadline to choose the World T20 team is February 15," BCCI sources said.
   
The preliminary probables' list for the March 16-April 6 World T20 Championship has already been announced by BCCI.
   
India, who won the inaugural World T20 Championship in 2007-08, will open their campaign against arch rivals and 2009 champions Pakistan in a Group 2 fixture on March 21 at the Sher-E-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur.
   
They will play their remaining second stage league fixtures on March 23 (v West Indies in Mipur), March 28 (v first stage qualifier in Mirpur) and March 30 (v Australia in Mirpur).
   
The two semifinals are scheduled on April 3 and 4 at the Sher-E-Bangla National Stadium followed by the summit clash at the same venue on April 6.
  
The five-team Asia Cup limited over (50 overs) tournament is to be held from February 25-March 8 in two venues (Fatullah and Mirpur).

Khan Sees Pakistani Taliban Talks Failing as Strike Looms

Pakistan peace talks with Taliban militants will probably fail and an ensuing military operation would lead to more terrorism, according to Imran Khan, head of the party that runs a province bordering Afghanistan.
Negotiators representing Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s government and Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan -- known as the Pakistani Taliban, or TTP -- called for a cease-fire yesterday after starting formal talks for the first time to end violence the government says has killed 40,000 Pakistanis since 2001. The TTP had named Khan as a negotiator, a post he turned down.
“The most likely result is that the negotiations will start, there will be about three or four big explosions and terrorist attacks and the negotiations will be called off,” Khan, a former cricket star and a vocal advocate of peace talks, said in an interview yesterday at his villa in the hills of Islamabad. “There will be people baying for blood and the operation will start.”
Khan’s pessimism signals further instability in Pakistan, which would threaten Sharif’s efforts to revive the $225 billion economy as the U.S. prepares to draw down troops in neighboring Afghanistan. Khan blocked NATO supply routes to Kabul in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa region where his party holds power to protest American drone strikes in Pakistan’s tribal areas, and called for the U.S. to publicly announce an end to the aerial attacks.

Ahmedabad: Residents criticise the renaming of tea stalls

Ahmedabad: In a bid to highlight BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi's tea seller background, party workers in Gujarat are renaming the tea stalls to 'Namo' tea stall. However, the move came under criticism in Naroda Patiya which was the worst hit area during the 2002 riots.
The residents of Naroda Patiya criticised the move and called it a cheap publicity stunt. Ahesan Shaikh said, "It is a cheap publicity stunt and I completely disapprove this."
A tea shop run by Zubair Shaikh in Odhav area was too re-branded as Namo tea stall by BJP activists. Zubair Shaikh, in his forties, is Qutubuddin Ansari's friend, the tailor whose photo became the face of Gujarat riots. He, however, said, "BJP workers came and asked whether I had any objection if they put up Modi's photo to which I said no, so it has been put up. "Qutubuddin too has no objection over renaming the shop," Zubair added.

Sensex up 128 points in early trade

MUMBAI | The benchmark BSE Sensex surged nearly 128 points in early trade on Friday, extending gains for the fourth straight session, on sustained buying by funds amid a firm trend on other Asian bourses.

The 30-share index, which had gained 101.48 points in the previous three sessions, rose further by 127.87 points, or 0.63 per cent, to 20,438.61, with stocks of healthcare, realty and metal sectors leading the rise.

All the sectoral indices were trading in the positive zone with gains up to 1.18 per cent.

Rajya Sabha elections to be held today, EC appoints special observers

New Delhi| : The stage is set for the biennial poll to the Rajya Sabha in four states on Friday. The Election Commission has made elaborate arrangements for the polls which will cover 18 seats.

The elections will be held for six seats in Andhra Pradesh, five in West Bengal, four in Odisha and three in Assam. They will be held in the respective State Legislative Assembly premises where the MLAs will cast their vote.

The polls for the Upper House is scheduled to be held between 9 am and 4 pm. The counting of votes will be done on Friday at 5 pm.

The EC has appointed four Chief Electoral Officers of other states as special observers of the commission for elections for which as many as 37 candidates from 12 States have already been declared elected unopposed.


The EC released a statement regarding the polls, which said, as quoted by IANS, “The duties of the special observers will be to keep a watch on electoral malpractices including role of money power. In case specific complaints are received, the same will promptly be looked into."

"The observers will also keep constant watch on the news and media reports related to biennial election. In case of any electoral malpractices, the same will be brought to the notice of the Commission," it added.

This is said to be one of the biggest biennial poll currently being held for 55 seats in 16 states for Upper House of Parliament. Maharashtra, seven seats, Tamil Nadu, six seats, Bihar, five seats, Gujarat, four seats, Madhya Pradesh, three seats, Rajasthan, three seats, Haryana, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand, two seats each and Himachal Pradesh, Manipur and Meghalaya, one seat each, have already completed the elections.

Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar and Congress leader Murli Deora are among the seven candidates from Maharashtra who have already been elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha from.

Centre vs Aam Aadmi Party: new showdown over Arvind Kejriwal's Jan Lokpal Bill

New Delhi:  Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government seems ready for a confrontation over its pet proposal - the anti-corruption Jan Lokpal bill - after a top lawyer's advice that the Delhi government has to seek the Centre's approval before it tries to enact the bill.

The Chief Minister today said, "We will write to the Lieutenant-Governor about it." His party pointed out that they had consulted several senior lawyers who had told them that the Delhi government could go ahead with legislation without having to seek the Centre's nod.

Mohan Parasaran, the Solicitor General, has told Lieutenant-Governor Najeeb Jung that before the Delhi legislature debates or votes on the bill, it must be cleared by the Union Home Ministry,  as the Lokpal or the ombudsman agency that is created by the bill will be funded at least in part by the Union government.

"It seems like a conspiracy against AAP. The Lieutenant-Governor needs to work for Delhi, not Congress," said AAP spokesperson Ashutosh.

Mr Kejriwal has declared that from February 13, the Jan Lokpal bill will be reviewed and then voted upon by the state's law-makers in a special four-day session at a city stadium, where people have been invited.

But the legal hurdle sets the stage for a new conflict between the Chief Minister and the Centre, whose top ministers he has repeatedly disdained as corrupt. Union minister Manish Tewari said, "If at all the solicitor has said so then it's our duty to protect the Constitution."

In 2011, Mr Kejriwal and his mentor, Anna Hazare, led a campaign to demand that Parliament pass the Lokpal Bill to create an independent agency to check graft among officials. It was not till December 2013, that the law was enacted. Mr Kejriwal has said that the law cleared by Parliament is so bland that it "can't even catch a mouse," and his version, the Jan Lokpal bill, is far more stringent.