India crush Australia by an innings and 132 runs

Nagpur: The Indian spin twins, Jadeja & Ashwin, played a crucial role with the ball, while Rohit’s ton closed the half-open gates of comeback for the Aussies

On Saturday, India won the first test of the Border-Gavaskar trophy convincingly with an innings and 132 runs within three days, handing Australia an embarrassing defeat. The first test was noth- ing more than a onesided affair, where the hosts completely sidelined the opponents in both batting and bowling departments. India has taken a confidence boosting 1-0 lead in the four-match contest.

After an unforgettable 36 all-out performance by India in the first test of 2020-21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, the Indian team came back strongly and brought the reputed possession home. Be- fore the start of the first test of this edition at Vidarbha Cricket Sta- dium in Nagpur on February 9, the cricket fraternity had split reac-

INDIA (W) VS PAK (W)

T20 WC TODAY tions on whether India will be able to retain the trophy being the hosts.

India women’s cricket team are set to begin their campaign in the T20 World Cup in South Africa on Sunday. Harmanpreet Kaur-led India will play against Pakistan women in their first match at the tournament. A total of ten teams from across the globe are getting featured in the competition and they have been divided into two groups- A and B.

While the India’s goto bowlers Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin broke the backbone of the Australian batting order with a fifer each in the first and second inning respectively, the skipper Rohit Sharma led from the front with a ton and set the platform for Jadeja (70 in 185 balls) and Axar Patel (84 in 174 balls) to chip in with impressive halfcenturies to take the team’s first innings to- tal to 400.

On the other hand, Australia, led by the pace spearhead Pat Cummins, could only manage 177 and 91 in the first and second innings respectively. Debutant Todd Murphy was the pick of the bowlers, claiming 7 wickets in the only Indian inning.

Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja was awarded the Man of the Match award for his 7 wickets and 70 runs with the bat.

Managing Director, Saab India Technologies, Mats Palmberg said.

‘Lithium reserve found is of best quality’

Jammu (PTI): The country’s first lithium reserve, found in Jammu and Kashmir, is of the best quality, a senior government official said here on Saturday, as upbeat villagers expressed hope the discovery will bring them a bright future.

The 5.9-million ton reserve of lithium, a crucial mineral for the manufacturing of electric vehicles and solar panels, had been discovered in Reasi district by the Geological Survey of India (GSI).