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A key aide to Myanmar’s deposed democratic figurehead Aung San Suu Kyi was among hundreds of political prisoners freed by the junta in a pre-election amnesty on Thursday, AFP reporters saw.Myanmar’s military snatched power in a 2021 coup — toppling Suu Kyi’s civilian government, jailing the Nobel laureate and making unsubstantiated allegations of electoral fraud after her party won national polls by a landslide.The coup prompted a devastating civil war, but the military has scheduled phased elections beginning December 28, touting the polls as an opportunity for reconciliation.The junta announced Wednesday its most significant amnesty of political prisoners in years, saying 3,085 prosecuted under post-coup legislation restricting free speech would have their sentences dropped.It is unclear whether that full number will be released as many may have additional convictions.But AFP reporters outside Yangon’s Insein Prison saw around 200 prisoners freed on Thursday morning.Families holding placards bearing their relatives’ names waited as white minibuses ferried out prisoners before they locked in tearful embraces.Among them was Kyi Toe, the former information committee chief of Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) party who was jailed since 2021.He largely avoided the topic of politics in a post-release interview, but pledged “to be strong to work together” with Suu Kyi — who remains sequestered in military detention in the capital Naypyidaw.Her NLD party which won 2020 polls has been dissolved by the junta and is not eligible to participate in the elections which are expected to last around a month.Several rights monitors and a UN expert have dismissed the vote as a fig leaf to conceal continuing military rule, but the pre-election prisoner amnesty is a rare backtrack of political prosecutions.Those released had been prosecuted under a post-coup penal code amendment punishing comments that “cause fear” or spread “false news” with up to three years in prison.The clause is frequently cited by media freedom groups as one of many speech curbs the junta has used to cudgel dissent.But the military government said prisoners were freed to ensure “every eligible person” would be able to “freely and fairly cast a vote” in the upcoming election.A 60-year-old man from Yangon whose daughter was released after her arrest in March 2024 told AFP she had been jailed for her social media activism with the NLD.”I don’t think such releases should be related to the election,” he said, speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons. “Every political prisoner should be released.”While the junta has forgiven past speech law breaches, it has also introduced new legislation punishing criticism or protest against the election with up to a decade in prison.More than 22,000 people are currently in junta detention, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners monitoring group. 

In India’s tech capital Bengaluru, the morning “rush hour” lasts so long it devours half the workday, throttling productivity in a city often viewed as the poster child of a booming economy.Entrepreneur RK Misra, co-founder of a multimillion-dollar start-up, avoids scheduling in-person meetings until nearly noon — then squeezes them in before gridlock returns.The “situation is pretty bad. And it hurts by not being able to plan your day”, Misra said, describing his gruelling 16-kilometre (nine mile) commute, which can take up to two hours at peak times.”It also discourages people from doing anything other than work, because there’s no work-life balance any more.”Bengaluru, home to nearly 12 million people and state capital of Karnataka, is the “Silicon Valley” of the world’s fifth biggest economy — hosting thousands of start-ups, outsourcing firms, and global tech giants from Google to Microsoft.Yet its flagship Outer Ring Road (ORR) business district is clogged with traffic, pocked with potholes, and often flooded during the monsoon. Water shortages plague the summer months.The roughly 20-kilometre (12-mile) ORR corridor, lined with swanky tech parks, hosts dozens of Fortune 500 offices, and more than a million employees.Frustration boiled over in September when Rajesh Yabaji, CEO of digital trucking logistics platform BlackBuck, announced he was moving his company out of ORR.Yabaji said he snapped after the “average commute for my colleagues shot up to 1.5+ hours (one way)”, he wrote on social media, adding that the roads were “full of potholes and dust, coupled with lowest intent to get them rectified”.- ‘Now or never’ -Pharma tycoon Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, founder of Biocon, chimed in.”I had an overseas business visitor to Biocon Park who said; ‘Why are the roads so bad and why is there so much garbage around? Doesn’t the government want to support investment?” she wrote on social media.Bengaluru had the world’s third-slowest traffic in 2024, according to the TomTom Traffic Index — far worse than San Francisco or London.Manas Das, of the Outer Ring Road Companies Association, works with city authorities to resolve infrastructure woes for global tech companies.”Companies would like to get the basics right — and today those basics are getting compromised,” Das said.BS Prahallad, technical director of the government-backed Bengaluru Smart Infrastructure Limited, set up to manage major projects, said an average resident needed 90-100 minutes to cover 16 kilometres.”Something has to be done, now or never,” he told AFP.”The next step is, we will decay.”Karnataka deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar wrote last month on X that “10000+ potholes” had been identified, with half fixed so far.”Instead of tearing Bengaluru down, let’s build it up — together,” he said.”The world sees India through Bengaluru, and we owe it to our city to rise united!”Borrowing a page from London’s playbook, authorities have also decided to split the municipal corporation into five smaller bodies and set up an overarching Greater Bengaluru Authority.Shivakumar said this move would “transform the way Bengaluru is planned and governed”.- ‘Choking on pollution’ -The southern Indian city was not always an overrun metropolis. Once part of the erstwhile princely state of Mysore, it was known as “garden city” or a “pensioner’s paradise”. India’s software boom kicked off in the 1990s, with outsourcing companies striking gold.Waves of investment since then from Silicon Valley companies and start-ups helped quadruple the state’s software exports from 2014 to 2024 to $46 billion.Venture capitalist TV Mohandas Pai, former chief financial officer of Indian IT giant Infosys, said the city’s infrastructure was “possibly three to five years behind”.Rapid expansion clogged waterways, cut trees, and filled wetlands, straining the infrastructure, ecologist Harini Nagendra said.”We have flooding because water has no place to go, drought because the water is not infiltrating into the ground,” she said.”People are choking on pollution, choking on the concrete — and all the dust that comes with the construction, traffic, smog, heatwaves,” she added.Nearly half the city depends on boreholes that run dry in summer, while the rest rely on costly water trucked in — a problem set to worsen with climate change, according to the Water, Environment, Land and Livelihoods (WELL) Labs research centre.Pai, 67, remains optimistic.  “The future is going to be bright, but there is going to be pain,” he said.  “We are suffering the pangs of growth because India knows how to handle poverty, not prosperity.”

India’s historic city of Ahmedabad will host the 2030 Commonwealth Games, a landmark event for a metropolis that is a power centre for some of the country’s most influential politicians.The event is widely seen as a stepping stone towards India’s ambition to host the 2036 Olympics.The city of more than seven million people is the economic and political heart of Gujarat state, a stronghold of the ruling Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).Summer temperatures routinely push past 50C, yet Ahmedabad is one of India’s most dynamic urban centres, home to major industries, political heavyweights and expanding infrastructure.- Sporting dreams -India says that the 2030 Commonwealth Games will be a “full-fledged” multisport event, including disciplines it hopes to push into the Olympic programme, such as tag team sports kabaddi and kho kho.Despite its population of 1.4 billion people, India has won only 10 Olympic gold medals in its history.Beyond cricket — which returns at the 2028 Los Angeles Games — its strongest sports traditionally include hockey and wrestling.”The 2030 Games will also reinforce India’s long-term ambition to become a global sporting hub,” the sports and youth ministry said in a statement. – Power base -Ahmedabad is a political and economic powerhouse — Prime Minister Narendra Modi was Gujarat’s chief minister from 2001 to 2014.His close ally and fellow Gujarati, Home Minister Amit Shah, welcomed the Games announcement as “a day of immense joy and pride”.Shah’s son, International Cricket Council chairman Jay Shah, called the decision a “momentous occasion for Indian sports”.The city is home to the Adani Group, the ports-to-power conglomerate led by tycoon Gautam Adani, a longtime associate of Modi, and sponsor of India’s team at the Paris Olympics.Asia’s richest person, Mukesh Ambani, also has deep roots in Gujarat. His Reliance Group operates the world’s largest oil refining complex in the state, as well as a privately run mega-zoo billed as the biggest “wild animal rescue centre”.- Gandhi’s home – Ahmedabad’s old walled city, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, preserves its 15th century winding lanes, massive gateways and intricately carved wooden homes.At the heart stands the imposing Bhadra Fort, along with centuries-old mosques, Hindu temples and stepwells — a stair-lined water reservoir.Nearby is Sabarmati Ashram, one of India’s most important heritage sites as Mahatma Gandhi’s residence during the independence movement.It was from here that he launched the 1930 Salt March, a defining moment in the struggle against British rule.- Giant infrastructure -The city already boasts the world’s largest-capacity cricket stadium, the 130,000-seat arena named after Modi.It hosted the 50-over 2023 Cricket World Cup final and is a key venue for the 2026 T20 World Cup.The stadium complex, which includes an Olympic-sized swimming pool, has also been the stage for high-profile political events.These included a 2020 rally for US President Donald Trump and a 2023 spectacle in which Modi circled the ground in a golden chariot alongside Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.India’s previous hosting of the Commonwealth Games, in New Delhi in 2010, was marred by delays and corruption allegations.This time, the government hopes to project an image of a modern, fast-growing nation on track to become the world’s fourth-largest economy.Massive investments in roads, metro lines and sports facilities are planned to reshape the city.- Dark history -Ahmedabad was the epicentre of religious riots in 2002 that resulted in the deaths of at least 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, and drew international condemnation.Modi, then Gujarat’s chief minister, faced accusations that he failed to stop the violence, but India’s top court said there was no evidence to support that.More recently, the city was shaken by the June 12 Air India crash in which 241 people on a London-bound flight and 19 people on the ground were killed. One passenger survived.

Underfire Gautam Gambhir said it was up to the Indian cricket board to decide his fate as coach after overseeing a 2-0 Test series defeat to South Africa on Wednesday.India went down to South Africa by 408 runs in the second Test to suffer their biggest defeat by runs and a fifth loss in seven home matches.The hosts were whitewashed 3-0 by New Zealand a year ago and the heavy defeat in Guwahati has once again raised doubts over Gambhir’s tactics.”It is up to BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) to decide,” Gambhir said, asked in the post-match press conference whether he was the right man for the job.”I’ve said it during my first press conference when I took over as the head coach — Indian cricket is important, I’m not important. And I sit here saying exactly the same thing.”Former batsman Gambhir, 44, replaced Rahul Dravid after the T20 World Cup triumph last year and has lost 10 out of 19 Tests since being appointed coach.His contract runs until the 2027 ODI World Cup.”People can keep forgetting I’m the same guy who got results in England as well, with a young team,” he said of the drawn away Test series this year.”And I’m sure you guys will forget very soon because a lot of people keep talking about New Zealand.””And I’m the same guy under who we won the Champions Trophy and Asian Cup as well,” he added.Stalwarts Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma quit T20 cricket after the World Cup win in Barbados and earlier this year called time on their Test careers.Shubman Gill was appointed Test captain ahead of the 2-2 draw in England.He then led India to a 2-0 sweep of the West Indies at home.Gill was injured in the opening match of the South Africa series and missed the second Test.Rishabh Pant stood in as skipper of a team in transition.India crashed to 140 all out in a mammoth chase of 549 with their batting faltering consistently in the two-match series.Their highest total was 201 in the first innings in Guwahati.”I don’t give excuses and I have never done that in the past,” said Gambhir.”But if you see four or five batters in this top eight have literally played less than 15 Tests. And they will grow. They are learning on the job.”The Indian spinners were also outdone on favourable home pitches with South Africa’s Simon Harmer returning 17 wickets with his off-spin.”I do not think so ever in a Test cricket something like this has happened where the transition is happening in the spin-bowling department and in a batting department as well,” said Gambhir.”All of us need to give them time and I am sure they have got the skill, they have got the talent, they have got the ability.”

Spinner Simon Harmer took six wickets as South Africa thrashed India by 408 runs in the second Test on Wednesday to condemn the hosts to a record loss and sweep the series.It was South Africa’s first series win in India in 25 years, after bowling the home team out for a dismal 140 in an unlikely chase of 549 on day five in Guwahati.India suffered their biggest Test defeat by runs and a fifth loss in seven home matches, having been whitewashed 3-0 by New Zealand little more than a year ago.Off-spinner Harmer, 36, returned figures of 6-37 as world champions South Africa clinched a Test series in India for only the second time, the first in 2000 under Hansie Cronje.”Winning a Test match and series in India is very special,” said left-arm quick Marco Jansen, who took 6-48 in India’s first-innings 201 after smashing a quickfire 93 with the bat as the visitors piled up 489.India lost the opening Test in Kolkata inside three days on a pitch with uneven bounce and South Africa once again beat the hosts at their own game of spin on a batting-friendly track.India coach Gautam Gambhir, under fierce pressure following the latest home whitewash, refused to point the finger of blame squarely at his players.”It lies with everyone in that dressing room and starts with me,” he told journalists.”I have said it before as well — that we win together, we lose together.”Asked if he was the right man to lead India, he referred reporters to the Indian cricket board.”I’ve said it during my first press conference when I took over as the head coach,” said the former batsman.”Indian cricket is important, I’m not important.”- India fold -A confident South Africa led by Temba Bavuma were always in control.All-rounder Senuran Muthusamy scored 109, his maiden Test century, before Jansen’s blast after electing to bat.The hosts were bundled out for 201 in reply to concede a first-innings lead of 288 but South Africa did not enforce the follow-on and decided to bat again.South Africa declared their second innings on 260-5 on day four to hand India a record chase but the hosts’ batting once again failed and they never threatened to get close.”Whether you’re playing at home or away, cricket demands that determination and the extra effort,” said India captain Rishabh Pant.”As a batting unit you need to capitalise on certain moments. As a team we didn’t do that.”Starting day five at 27-2 as they attempted to avoid defeat, India rode their luck early when Jansen had Sai Sudharsan caught behind for four, but the delivery was declared a no-ball after the bowler overstepped.In the next over Kuldeep Yadav survived a reprieve on four when Aiden Markram dropped him at first slip off Harmer.The relief was short-lived for India as a relentless Harmer bowled Kuldeep for five for the first wicket of the day.Three balls later the spinner dismissed Dhruv Jurel for two and soon sent back Pant for 13 as India slumped to 58-5.Ravindra Jadeja resisted with 54 before Keshav Maharaj had him stumped and the spinner soon got the final wicket of Mohammed Siraj, with Jansen pulling off a stunning catch in the deep.”Coming here, I would have never thought 2-0 would be the result at the end of the series,” said Bavuma.”But I think it’s an incredible achievement for the group of players.”

Spinner Simon Harmer took six wickets as South Africa thrashed India by 408 runs in the second Test on Wednesday to sweep the series and condemn the hosts to a record loss.It was South Africa’s first series win in India in 25 years, after bowling the home team out for a dismal 140 in a mammoth chase of 549 on day five in Guwahati.India suffered their biggest Test defeat by runs and a fifth loss in seven home Tests, having been whitewashed 3-0 by New Zealand last year.Off-spinner Harmer, 36, returned figures of 6-37 as South Africa clinched a Test series in India for only the second time, the first in 2000 under Hansie Cronje.”Winning a Test match and series in India is very special,” said left-arm quick Marco Jansen, who returned figures of 6-48 in India’s first innings after smashing a quickfire 93 with the bat.Jansen, named player of the match, added: “Very well done to everyone for putting their hand up and making this happen.” India lost the opening Test in Kolkata inside three days on a pitch with uneven bounce before South Africa once again beat the hosts in their own game of spin on a batting-friendly track.Ravindra Jadeja resisted with 54 before Keshav Maharaj had him stumped and the spinner soon got the final wicket of Mohammed Siraj, with Jansen pulling off a stunning catch in the deep.The visitors had declared their second innings on 260-5 on day four to hand India a record chase but the hosts’ batting once again failed and they never threatened to get close.”Whether you’re playing at home or away cricket demands that determination and the extra effort,” said India captain Rishabh Pant.”As a batting unit you need to capitalise on certain moments. As a team we didn’t do that.”India rode their luck early in the day when Jansen had Sai Sudharsan caught behind but the delivery was declared a no-ball after the bowler overstepped. The batter was on four.In the next over Kuldeep Yadav survived a reprieve on four when Aiden Markram dropped him at first slip off Harmer.But the relief was short-lived for India as a relentless Harmer bowled Kuldeep for five for the first wicket of the day.Three balls later the spinner dismissed Dhruv Jurel for two and soon sent back Pant for 13 as India slumped to 58-5.The batters fell like nine pins on a pitch where South Africa posted 489 after they elected to bat.India were bundled out for 201 to concede a first-innings lead of 288 but South Africa did not enforce the follow-on and decided to bat again.South African all-rounder Senuran Muthusamy led the batting charge in the first innings with 109, his maiden Test century.

Bitter rivals India and Pakistan have been clubbed together in the same group and will play each other on February 15 in Colombo in the T20 World Cup, cricket’s world body announced Tuesday.Defending champions India and Pakistan have been placed in Group A in the 20-team competition being co-hosted by Sri Lanka, according to the schedule released by the International Cricket Council in Mumbai.It will be the first time the two teams play each other since their three heated contests at the 2025 Asia Cup in the UAE, where they skipped the customary handshake at the toss and post-match greetings.The Asia Cup was the first time they had met since a deadly border conflict between the nuclear-armed neighbours in May.The T20 World Cup will see Pakistan playing all their matches in Sri Lanka, part of a compromise deal that allows both India and Pakistan to play at neutral venues in multi-nation tournaments.Matches in the tournament will be held from February 7 across five venues in India and three in Sri Lanka.Cricket-mad India, the world’s most populous nation, is the epicentre of the T20 game through its lucrative Indian Premier League (IPL), boasting top global stars.The tournament will use the same format as 2024 — 20 teams in four groups, ahead of a Super Eights phase, with the top two finishers from each group making it to the playoffs.The final will be played on March 8 either in Ahmedabad or Colombo, depending on whether Pakistan go all the way.- Newcomers Italy -India enter the sport’s 10th edition of the showcase T20 tournament as reigning champions, having beaten South Africa by seven runs in 2024 in Barbados.Indian fans are dreaming of seeing their men’s team win a second time at home, after they clinched the 50-over World Cup in Mumbai in 2011.India’s women celebrated a watershed moment this month, when the team won their first World Cup crown, beating South Africa in the final at Mumbai.Indian broadcaster JioHotstar said the viewing figures of the final on their app matched that of the men’s T20 World Cup 2024 summit clash, a “staggering 185 million users”, according to the ICC.”It is wonderful to welcome the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup back to the subcontinent so soon after a groundbreaking Women’s Cricket World Cup,” ICC chairman Jay Shah said.”The passion for cricket in this region is unmatched, and fans have been waiting eagerly for another global spectacle.”Alongside hosts India and Sri Lanka, top finishers from the 2024 edition taking part are Australia, England, South Africa, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, United States and West Indies.From Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe have qualified. From Europe, Ireland, the Netherlands and — for the first time — Italy are also playing.Also included are Nepal, Oman and United Arab Emirates.Ahmedabad, in the western state of Gujarat, is home to a 130,000-seater arena which is the world’s biggest cricket stadium, named after Prime Minister Narendra Modi.The city is in prime position to host the 2030 Commonwealth Games, with a final announcement on Wednesday.India has its eyes on a bigger prize, having submitted a formal letter of intent last year to the International Olympic Committee to host the 2036 Summer Olympics.

Afghanistan’s Taliban government vowed on Tuesday to “respond appropriately” to deadly overnight air strikes it blamed on Pakistan, a claim Islamabad denied, as tensions spiked a day after a suicide bombing in a Pakistani city.An air raid on Khost province “martyred” nine children and a woman, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid posted on X, blaming Pakistani forces and saying the target was “the house of a local civilian resident”.Residents of the targeted area near the Pakistan frontier searched through the rubble of a collapsed house and prepared graves for victims, an AFP correspondent saw.”Our request from the government of Pakistan is this: do not bomb ordinary people,” said Sajidulrahman, a resident of the Jige Mughalgai area.”Civilians have done nothing wrong.”Mustaghfir Gurbuz, a spokesman for the governor of Khost, said the strikes were carried out by aircraft that included drones.The nearby border regions of Kunar and Paktika were also hit, wounding at least four people, government spokesman Mujahid said.”The Islamic Emirate strongly condemns this violation and reiterates that defending its airspace, territory, and people is its legitimate right, and it will respond appropriately at the right time,” Mujahid said in a separate statement.Pakistan denied carrying out any attack. According to state broadcaster PTV, military spokesman Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said: “Pakistan has not attacked Afghanistan.””Whenever we conduct a strike, it is announced openly and properly,” he said. “Pakistan never attacks civilian populations. The allegations of the interim Afghan government are baseless.”The bombardment came after a suicide attack on Monday killed three officers and wounded 11 others at the headquarters of Pakistan’s paramilitary Federal Constabulary force in Peshawar.No group has claimed responsibility, but state broadcaster PTV reported the attackers were Afghan nationals.President Asif Zardari blamed the “foreign-backed Fitna al-Khawarij” — Islamabad’s term for the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militant group it accuses of operating from Afghan soil.Another suicide blast this month killed 12 people outside a court in the Pakistani capital. It was claimed by a faction of the Pakistani Taliban, which shares the same ideology as the Afghan Taliban.Islamabad has said the militant cell behind the capital attack was “guided at every step by the… high command based in Afghanistan”.- Truce under strain -Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar told reporters on Tuesday there was “clear-cut evidence” linking the Afghan Taliban to the Islamabad bombing.He aired an alleged video confession from one of four suspects in custody and said: “Afghanistan is fully involved… and their soil is also involved. The people being sheltered there are also involved.”Relations between Islamabad and Kabul have been fraught since the Taliban swept back to power in Kabul in 2021, and worsened after border clashes in October killed around 70 people on both sides.That fighting ended with a ceasefire brokered by Qatar and Turkey, but several rounds of talks in Doha and Istanbul failed to produce a lasting deal.Security issues have proved a sticking point, especially Pakistan’s demand that Kabul curb TTP fighters.Islamabad accuses the Taliban of sheltering militants behind a surge in attacks, particularly the TTP, which has waged a bloody campaign against Pakistan for years.Kabul denies the charge and counters that Pakistan harbours groups hostile to Afghanistan and does not respect its sovereignty.The border between the neighbours has remained closed for more than six weeks since the October clashes, freezing bilateral trade.The Pakistan-Afghanistan Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry has warned that thousands of containers remain stuck at the border, each incurring $150–$200 in daily charges, calling the economic burden “unbearable”.

South Africa had India tottering at 27-2 after setting the hosts a mammoth target of 549 in the second Test on Tuesday, moving to the brink of a first series win in the country for 25 years.South Africa declared on 260-5 in the final session on day four in Guwahati after Tristan Stubbs made 94.World Test champions South Africa lead the two-match series 1-0 and even a draw would seal their first series victory in India since 2000.The Proteas kept on batting despite the lead crossing 500 in the second session and coach Shukri Conrad said they wanted to make sure they ended India’s hopes of a series-levelling win.”We wanted them to really grovel… Bat them completely out the game and then say to them well come and survive on the last day and an hour this evening,” Conrad told reporters.”So far so good but we also know they’re not just going to roll over. We’re going to have to be at our very best tomorrow.”India suffered their fourth defeat in six home Tests in the opener in Kolkata, after a humiliating 3-0 series loss to New Zealand last year, and they need to bat for three more sessions to avoid another loss.India had been unbeaten in home Test series for 12 years before being swept by the Black Caps.The highest successful run chase in Test cricket was West Indies’ 418 against Australia in 2003. India’s highest chase was 406 against West Indies in 1976.Sai Sudharsan (2) and nightwatchman Kuldeep Yadav (4) were battling for survival when bad light ended play in the northeastern city, where the sun sets early.South Africa pace spearhead Marco Jansen dismissed Yashasvi Jaiswal with a short delivery outside the off stump to have him caught behind for 13.Left-arm quick Jansen took his match tally to seven wickets after figures of 6-48 in India’s first innings, after also hitting 93 with the bat earlier in the game.Off-spinner Simon Harmer bowled KL Rahul for six with a sharp, spinning delivery which turned through the gate.- Draw will be ‘win’ -India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja said the home team had their eyes set on surviving for a draw, despite needing to attempt the record run chase to salvage the series.”The ball would spin and bounce more on day five — that is expected,” said Jadeja.”But if we don’t give away a wicket in the first session then put pressure on the bowlers. It will be win-win for us if we bat out day five and save the Test.”South Africa earlier resumed on 26-0 after bundling out India for 201 on day three to lead by 288 on the first innings.They did not enforce the follow-on and decided to bat again to pile the misery on the hosts.Opener Ryan Rickelton hit three fours in the first session before he fell to Jadeja while attempting another hit over cover but was caught for 35.Jadeja bowled the other overnight batter, Aiden Markram, for 29, before fellow spinner Washington Sundar dismissed visiting captain Temba Bavuma for three.Stubbs put on 101 runs for the fourth wicket with Tony de Zorzi, who was on 49 when Jadeja broke through.The veteran trapped De Zorzi lbw to deny him his fifty, but Stubbs stood firm in a 180-ball stay peppered with nine fours and a six.Stubbs was the last man out when he was bowled by Jadeja, who took 4-62, attempting to hit a second six of the over to bring up a hundred.Bavuma immediately declared, leaving Wiaan Mulder unbeaten on 35.The Indian fielders looked tired during a South African innings that lasted for 78.3 overs, as disappointed home fans at a largely empty stadium waited for the agony to end.

Tristan Stubbs made 94 as South Africa declared their second innings on 260-5 to set India a record victory target of 549 and close in on a series win in the second Test on Tuesday.World Test champions South Africa lead the two-match series 1-0 and even a draw in Guwahati would seal their first series win in India since 2000.India suffered their fourth defeat in six home Tests in the opener in Kolkata and the hosts need to bat for more than three sessions to avoid another loss.The highest successful run chase in Test cricket was West Indies’ 418 against Australia in 2003. India’s highest was 406 against West Indies in 1976.Stubbs was the last man out as he fell bowled to Ravindra Jadeja (4-62) and South Africa declared in the final session on day four.Stubbs put on 101 runs for the fourth wicket with Tony de Zorzi, who made 49, until left-arm spinner Jadeja broke through.Jadeja had De Zorzi lbw but Stubbs stood firm to frustrate the Indian bowlers in a 180-ball stay peppered with nine fours and a six.South Africa resumed on 26-0 after bundling out India for 201 on day three to lead by 288 in the first innings.They did not enforce the follow-on and decided to bat again to pile the misery on the hosts.Left-handed opener Ryan Rickelton hit three fours in the first session before he fell to Jadeja while attempting another hit over cover but got caught out. He made 35.Jadeja bowled the other overnight batter, Aiden Markram, for 29 before fellow spinner Washington Sundar dismissed skipper Temba Bavuma for three.