Australia turned the screws on India in the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne as Steve Smith hit his second century in as many matches before India's batting failed spectacularly in the final hour.
After struggling initially in the series, Smith roared back into form with a sizzling 140 as Australia amassed a daunting 474 in their first innings of the fourth Test on Friday.
Australia's lower order batted brilliantly as the hosts, who started the day on 311-6, took the score closer to 500 and the match beyond India's grasp.
With more than 87,000 fans in attendance, Australia plundered the runs before being dismissed soon after lunch. Smith's brilliant 140, which included 13 fours and three sixes, ended when he was bowled by Akash Deep in bizarre circumstances, with the ball trickling off his body after charging down the wicket.
Fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah once again carried the bowling load with hardly any support from the other end, finishing with 4-99, while spinner Ravindra Jadeja took 3-78.
There was more hardship awaiting India as captain Rohit Sharma walked out to bat as an opener alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal. Rohit's promotion to the top meant an in-form KL Rahul was asked to bat at one down, while Shubman Gill was dropped from the XI.
The decision backfired, as was expected. Rohit did not look settled at any stage and spooned a simple catch off Pat Cummins after attempting a strange pull shot.
Rahul steadied the ship with Jaiswal before the former was bowled by Cummins for 24 via a brilliant off cutter.
In walked Virat Kohli and he looked like taking India through to close of play without further damage.
Jaiswal was batting superbly, scoring boundaries at will and also hitting a six. But in the final 45 minutes of play, India lost the plot completely.
Jaiswal, batting on 82, went for a non-existent single to mid on and ended up on the same end with Kohli, run out easily by the wicketkeeper.
From 153-2, India lost momentum. Next over, Kohli – possibly rattled by that run out – again edged a wide and full ball from Scott Boland behind to be out for a well made 36. The tourists were forced to send in night-watchman Akash Deep, who could not survive until the end and was out for a duck.
Rishabh Pant and Jadeja took India to close of play at 164-5, still 310 runs behind Australia and staring at the possibility of a follow on.
Australia are now favourites to take a lead in the series, and they can thank Smith for putting them in that position.
Earlier in the day, Smith padded up again on 68, with skipper Cummins alongside him on eight.
The veteran batsman showed his intent early with a four from Bumrah while Cummins also batted with freedom. They took 15 off one Akash Deep over to bring up their 50-run partnership before Smith hooked Bumrah for six.
Smith reached his 34th Test century with a boundary off Nitish Kumar Reddy, which came on the back of a return to form at the last Test in Brisbane where he made 101.
It was a patient innings from the 35-year-old and moved him alongside four other players on the all-list of century-makers, including Sunil Gavaskar and Brian Lara.
The rest of Australia's lower order also showed good application to take the total past 450. Cummins (48), Mitchell Starc (15) and Nathan Lyon (13) showed good application to keep India on the field as long as possible.
Rohit's captaincy deficiencies were laid bare once again as he allowed the game to drift, failed to plug the gaps and even let tail-enders take easy singles.
Having failed spectacularly as captain and batsman, this is most likely the end of Rohit's Test career.
Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
HIJRA
Starring: Lamar Faden, Khairiah Nathmy, Nawaf Al-Dhufairy
Director: Shahad Ameen
Rating: 3/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The five pillars of Islam
EA Sports FC 26
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: PC, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3/5
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- Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
- Ovarian tissue surgically removed
- Tissue processed in a high-tech facility
- Tissue re-implanted at a time of the patient’s choosing
- Full hormone production regained within 4-6 months
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GAC GS8 Specs
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Expert advice
“Join in with a group like Cycle Safe Dubai or TrainYAS, where you’ll meet like-minded people and always have support on hand.”
Stewart Howison, co-founder of Cycle Safe Dubai and owner of Revolution Cycles
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Cornelia Gloor, head of RAK Hospital’s Rehabilitation and Physiotherapy Centre
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Chandrashekar Nandi, physiotherapist at Burjeel Hospital in Dubai
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Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
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Zayed Sustainability Prize
Zayed Sustainability Prize
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The specs
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The candidates
Dr Ayham Ammora, scientist and business executive
Ali Azeem, business leader
Tony Booth, professor of education
Lord Browne, former BP chief executive
Dr Mohamed El-Erian, economist
Professor Wyn Evans, astrophysicist
Dr Mark Mann, scientist
Gina MIller, anti-Brexit campaigner
Lord Smith, former Cabinet minister
Sandi Toksvig, broadcaster
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
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- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
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Lexus LX700h specs
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Asia Cup Qualifier
Final
UAE v Hong Kong
Live on OSN Cricket HD. Coverage starts at 5.30am
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What are the main cyber security threats?
Cyber crime - This includes fraud, impersonation, scams and deepfake technology, tactics that are increasingly targeting infrastructure and exploiting human vulnerabilities.
Cyber terrorism - Social media platforms are used to spread radical ideologies, misinformation and disinformation, often with the aim of disrupting critical infrastructure such as power grids.
Cyber warfare - Shaped by geopolitical tension, hostile actors seek to infiltrate and compromise national infrastructure, using one country’s systems as a springboard to launch attacks on others.
