Jurel, Jadeja tons put India in firm command of West Indies Test
Dhruv Jurel and Ravindra Jadeja hit attacking centuries to put India in total control with a lead of 286 against the West Indies in the first Test on Friday.KL Rahul led the batting show with his 100 before Jurel, who made 125, and Jadeja piled on the agony for the opposition bowlers in a marathon stand of 206 on day two in Ahmedabad.India reached 448-5 at stumps in response to West Indies’ first-innings total of 162.Jadeja, on 104, was batting alongside fellow left-hander Washington Sundar, on nine, at close of play.Wicketkeeper-batsman Jurel raised his first Test ton with a boundary off West Indies skipper Roston Chase and the son of a war veteran celebrated with an army-like tribute with his bat.Jurel took the attack to the visitors with 15 fours and three sixes before he became the first Test wicket of debutant left-arm spinner Khary Pierre.Jadeja plundered his sixth Test hundred and raised the noise of a sparse crowd at the world’s biggest cricket stadium with his trademark sword celebration. He hit six fours and five sixes.The right-left batting pair of Jurel and Jadeja wore down the opposition bowlers on a deteriorating pitch.A delivery from Jomel Warrican went past Jadeja at ankle length after hitting a rough patch formed due to bowlers’ footmarks.Warrican had Rahul caught at short extra-cover with his left-arm spin on the fifth ball after the lunch break. The opener did not trouble the scorers after reaching his 11th Test century.Rahul reached the ton in the morning session, kissing the India flag on his helmet and soaking in the applause from the few hundred fans sprinkled in a sea of orange seats at the 132,000-capacity stadium.Starting the day on 121-2, Rahul and skipper Shubman Gill, who made 50, put on 98 runs to pile on the agony for the West Indies.The two overnight batters had a few nervy moments.Rahul survived a reprieve on 57 when an edge from his bat went between the wicketkeeper and slip in the first over.Rahul, who started the day on 53, hit regular boundaries with his exquisite timing and technique.Gill looked to find his mojo after a cautious start and reached his eighth Test fifty with a single off Pierre.The captain soon got out to Chase’s off-spin after he attempted a reverse sweep but lobbed it to Justin Greaves at slip.The West Indies have struggled in the absence of premier fast bowler Alzarri Joseph and Shamar Joseph — both ruled out ahead of the series with injury.India are strong favourites to win 2-0 against an opposition that is a pale shadow of the team that once ruled world cricket.
Stocks gain on AI optimism, US rate-cut hopes
Stock markets mostly rose Friday driven by investor optimism over AI and US rate-cut hopes, which overshadowed concerns about a government shutdown dragging on. A rally in tech stocks was given another lift on Friday by an agreement between Japan’s Hitachi and ChatGPT developer OpenAI to work on AI and energy. Shares in Hitachi jumped more than 10 percent, with other Japanese tech firms and investment giant SoftBank following suit. The advance helped push Tokyo’s Nikkei 1.9 percent higher.European markets also advanced, led by banks and mining stocks. Hong Kong retreated, while Shanghai was closed for a holiday.A surge in AI investment this year has helped push the valuations of some of the sector’s biggest names to eye-watering levels — with US chip titan Nvidia topping $4 trillion — and several stock markets to record highs.This week has seen extra momentum after South Korean semiconductor giants Samsung and SK hynix said they had struck a preliminary deal with the OpenAI to supply chips and other equipment for its Stargate project.Wall Street stocks finished at fresh records again Thursday.Positive sentiment has also been supported by data in recent months pointing to a slowdown in the US labour market, which led the Federal Reserve to cut borrowing costs and indicate more to come.Traders brushed off a standoff in Washington that has seen the government partially shut down, leading to the closure of some services and the likely delay of the release of key jobs figures later in the day.While the readings on non-farm payrolls (NFPs) is a major guide for the Fed when deciding monetary policy, analysts said the shutdown was unlikely to deter the bank from an expected second rate cut this month.”Markets seem to have taken this political impasse in their stride, showing little sign of stress,” said Joshua Mahony, chief market analyst at Scope Markets.”The lack of market reaction highlights how little investors believe the shutdown will matter for the medium-term outlook on growth or interest rates,” he added.A Senate vote is expected Friday on a House-passed resolution to keep the government funded at current levels through November 21.In company news, Japanese beer titan Asahi fell more than one percent after a cyberattack that hit its ordering and delivery system this week forced it to stop production at some factories.Its shares have fallen around seven percent this week. Officials at the firm said they did not know when they would be back up and running.The positive mood on trading floors has also helped bitcoin regain some of its mojo, striking back above $120,000 for the first time since mid-August when it hit a record 124,515.- Key figures at around 1100 GMT -London – FTSE 100: UP 0.7 percent at 9,464.95 pointsParis – CAC 40: UP 0.3 percent at 8,079.64Frankfurt – DAX: UP 0.1 percent at 24,431.87Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 1.9 percent at 45,769.50 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.5 percent at 27,140.92 (close)Shanghai – Composite: Closed for a holidayNew York – Dow: UP 0.2 percent at 46,519.72 (close)Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1736 from $1.1720 on ThursdayPound/dollar: UP at $1.3453 from $1.3446Dollar/yen: UP at 147.33 yen from 147.19 yenEuro/pound: UP at 87.25 pence from 87.17 penceWest Texas Intermediate: UP 0.5 percent at $60.76 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: UP 0.5 percent at $64.37 per barrel