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Veteran spinner Ravindra Jadeja took four wickets to put India in sight of victory on a manic day two of a low-scoring opening Test on Saturday.South Africa were 93-7 at stumps to lead by 63 runs in their second innings on an Eden Gardens pitch that has made batting decidedly tricky. Fifteen wickets fell during the second day and KL Rahul’s 39 – from 119 balls – in India’s first innings remains the highest individual score of the match. Proteas skipper Temba Bavuma tried to replicate Rahul’s obduracy, making an unbeaten 29. Corbin Bosch, on one, was with him when play was called off due to bad light.Spinner Simon Harmer had dragged the visitors back into the contest with figures of 4-30 that helped bowl out India for 189 with the hosts taking a slender lead of 30.”Playing in India you know you will be under pressure and I thought we fought back well today in restricting them,” Harmer told reporters.”Cricket’s a funny game, we could be sitting here tomorrow night with a completely different story. South Africa manage to get to 150 and bowl India out for 80.””If there is one thing that this team has showed it’s that they can fight when the backs are against the wall,” added Harmer.Jadeja’s 27 was key to India’s first innings total and the 36-year-old all-rounder showed the other side of his game with some testing left-arm spin.South Africa found themselves in a hole when Kuldeep Yadav and Jadeja removed the openers Ryan Rickelton and Aiden Markram either side of the tea break.Jadeja kept up the pressure as he struck twice in one over to send back Wiaan Mulder, caught behind by Rishabh Pant for 11, and two balls later Tony de Zorzi who was caught off his glove and thigh pad by Dhruv Jurel at short-leg.He had South Africa in more trouble when he spun the ball sharply to bowl Tristan Stubbs for five to bring the house down at the iconic venue that had over 47,000 fans according to official data.The biggest cloud on India’s horizon was the absence of skipper Shubman Gill who retired hurt on four with a neck problem. He did not return to resume his innings and nor did he field, with vice-captain Pant leading the team.- India collapse -Earlier, India lost regular wickets to survive just 62.2 overs in response to South Africa’s first innings total of 159.”Even we didn’t expect the wicket to deteriorate so quickly,” India bowling coach Morne Morkel said.”I thought it to be a good wicket in the first couple of overs, but that’s the beauty of playing in the sub-continent that you need to adapt and react quickly. We have quality with both seam and spin and that covers both bases.”The hosts resumed on 37-1 with overnight batters Rahul and Washington Sundar, who made 29, extending their partnership to 57 in a grinding first hour.Pant hit a 24-ball 27 on a pitch with inconsistent bounce and more turn expected.Sundar hit two fours and one six in his otherwise laboured knock before falling caught behind to Harmer.Gill walked out to loud cheers but his stay was limited to three balls as he swept Harmer for a four at backward square-leg and then held his neck in pain.The physio soon arrived and Gill walked back to the pavilion.Rahul kept up his hard work from day one when he made 13 off 59 balls and on day two looked more assured until his departure off Keshav Maharaj.India went into lunch at 138-4 and Jurel started with two fours after the break before Harmer had him caught and bowled for 14 to trigger a collapse.Jadeja took India into the lead with a boundary but fell lbw to Harmer and India slipped further when pace bowler Jansen had Kuldeep caught behind for one.Harmer cleaned up Axar Patel to end the Indian innings. Jansen returned figures of 3-35.

Tens of thousands of demonstrators gathered in Bangladesh’s capital on Saturday to demand that followers of a tiny Muslim sect be declared infidels, in a show of force for hardliners ahead of elections.The Ahmadiya community, followers of a branch of Sufism that has its origins in 19th-century India, have long been persecuted in Muslim-majority Bangladesh.Mob attacks targeting sect member were reported across the country when former prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s government fell last year in a student-led revolution. In the months since then, hardline Islamist groups that had been stifled under Hasina’s autocratic rule have returned to the fore, in part hoping to make headway in general elections set for February.The crowd in the heart of Dhaka on Saturday included political leaders and senior Islamic preachers from India, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.Some protestors wore T-shirts that read: “Ahmadiyas must be declared kafirs (infidels).”A banner called for legislation against the sect “now”.Hardline Islamic scholars often denounce them as heretics, describing their belief in a prophet after Mohammed as blasphemy.”Ahmadiyas hold a completely different view from ours, and that’s why they are not us,” protester Mohammad Mamun Sheikh, 50, told AFP.”They can live in our country like followers of other religions, but not as Muslims,” he added.A 15-year-old boy at the rally, whose name has been withheld for safety, said his teacher had encouraged him to attend, arguing that “Ahmadiyas are polluting our religion.”Ahmad Tabshir Choudhury, a spokesman for the Ahmadiya community in Bangladesh, dismissed the theological arguments against them.”Religion is being used as a political tool,” he told AFP.Ahmadiyas make up less than one percent of Bangladesh’s population.”If our community made up even ten percent of the population, things would be different. Ahmadiyas would be treated differently by political parties,” Choudhury said.He added that despite fear of attacks, community members would not abandon their faith.”We will not give in,” he said.

Nine people were killed and 31 injured when confiscated explosives accidentally blew up at a police station in Indian-administered Kashmir, police said Saturday, just days after a car blast in Delhi killed a dozen people.The incident happened in Nowgam and the explosives at the police station were recovered from Faridabad in the northern state of Haryana earlier this week, just hours before the powerful blast in Delhi that killed 12 people.Samples from the recovered material were being sent for further forensic examination since Thursday, the region’s director general of police Nalin Prabhat said, and the procedure was being handled with “utmost caution” due to its “unstable and sensitive nature”.”However, unfortunately during this course (on Friday) around 11:20 pm, an accidental explosion has taken place. Any other speculation into the cause of this incident is unnecessary,” he told reporters.The victims included police personnel, forensic team members and two crime photographers and other members from the local administration.”The building of the police station has been severely damaged and the adjacent buildings have been affected,” he added.Local media reported that the militant organisation People’s Anti-Fascist Front (PAFF), said to be close to the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) group, had taken responsibility for the explosion, but the region’s police dismissed the claims.Attacks blamed on JeM include the 2001 assault on India’s parliament, and the 2019 Pulwama suicide bombing, which killed 40 security personnel.”The claim of PAFF or any other Pakistani terrorist group is patently false, baseless and mischievous!” the Jammu and Kashmir police said in a post on X. The explosion comes just days after powerful blast on Monday killed at least 12 people and wounded 30 others in the Indian capital New Delhi.It was the most significant security incident since April 22, when 26 mainly Hindu civilians were killed at the tourist site of Pahalgam in Indian-administered Kashmir, triggering clashes with Pakistan.India’s government on Wednesday vowed to bring the “perpetrators, their collaborators, and their sponsors” of the deadly car blast in the heart of the capital to justice and called it an act of terrorism.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday hailed a “resounding” victory for his party and its allies in a key local election in the country’s poorest state of Bihar.The eastern state of 130 million people was widely seen as a bellwether and a test of Modi’s ability to translate New Delhi’s booming economy into gains for its poorest citizens.Counting is still ongoing and the final tally may not be out until Saturday, but the election commission said partial results and projections suggested a solid majority for Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies in the state assembly.Modi called the win a “victory of good governance”.”This resounding public mandate will empower us to serve the people and work with new resolve for Bihar,” he said in a post on social media.Bihar is the only state in the Hindi-speaking north where Modi’s party has never ruled alone.This time too, it is unlikely to secure a majority by itself but appears set to emerge as the single largest party ahead of its alliance partner, Janata Dal (United).Together with smaller allies, they are on course to securing at least three quarters of the state legislature’s 243 seats, according to figures from the election commission.The election outcome can boost Modi and his party ahead of other key regional polls next year, analysts say.It is also expected to put the Indian leader on a surer footing after a series of daunting economic and foreign policy challenges, including armed conflict with neighbouring Pakistan and steep US tariffs.

Bangladesh will hold a referendum on a landmark democratic reform charter on the same day as its parliamentary election scheduled for February 2026, interim leader Muhammad Yunus said on Thursday.Yunus, the 85-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate, said he had inherited a “completely broken down” political system after taking over following an uprising last year.The interim leader of the South Asian nation of 170 million people has argued that the reform charter, which he has championed as the cornerstone of his legacy, is vital to prevent a return to authoritarian rule.”We have decided… that the referendum will be held on the same day as the next parliamentary elections,” Yunus said in a national address.”This will not hinder the goal of reform in any way. The elections will be more festive and affordable.”Tensions are high as parties gear up for the polls.The chief prosecutor in the crimes against humanity trial of fugitive former prime minister Sheikh Hasina said earlier on Thursday judges will issue the hugely anticipated verdict on November 17.Hasina, 78, has defied court orders to return from India to attend her trial on charges of ordering a deadly crackdown in a failed attempt to suppress the student-led uprising that led to her removal.”We hope the court will exercise its prudence and wisdom, that the thirst for justice will be fulfilled, and that this verdict will mark an end to crimes against humanity,” chief prosecutor Tajul Islam told reporters.Hasina has denied all the charges and called her trial a “jurisprudential joke”.- ‘Standing tall’ -The reform document, dubbed the “July Charter” after the uprising that toppled Hasina, has sparked intense arguments between parties jostling for power ahead of the polls.The reform plan will strengthen checks and balances between the executive, judicial and legislative branches, proposes a two-term limit for prime ministers and expanded presidential powers.It also aims to enshrine the recognition of Bangladesh as a multi-ethnic and multi-religious nation.Voters will be asked to give opinions on key issues in one question, divided into four parts.”If the majority vote in the referendum is ‘yes’, a Constitutional Reform Council will be formed,” Yunus said, adding its job would be to amend the constitution in parliament.”We, the living, should not tarnish the glory of the unity that the countrymen built by standing tall in the face of death against fascism”, he said.Yunus has said repeatedly the polls, the first since the mass uprising overthrew Hasina’s autocratic government, will be held in early February. The Election Commission is expected to confirm the exact date in December.The referendum announcement created frustration among some who wanted the reforms enshrined in law before fresh elections. “Muhammad Yunus has failed to fulfil the desire of the people,” said Mia Golam Parwar, a senior leader from Jamaat-E-Islami, the largest Islamist political party.”The crisis may deepen.”Hasina’s outlawed Awami League party had called for a nationwide “lockdown” on Thursday and there was a heavy deployment of security forces around the court, with armoured vehicles manning checkpoints.A string of crude bombs has been set off across Dhaka this month, mainly petrol bombs hurled at everything from buildings linked to the government of Yunus to buses and Christian sites.

Pakistan’s parliament approved a sweeping constitutional amendment on Thursday granting lifetime immunity to the president as well as the current army chief, a move critics warned would erode democratic checks and judicial independence.The 27th amendment, passed by a two-thirds majority, also consolidates military power under a new Chief of Defence Forces role and establishes a Federal Constitutional Court.The changes grant army chief Asim Munir, promoted to field marshal after Pakistan’s clash with India in May, command over the army, air force and the navy.He and other top military brass will enjoy lifelong protections.Under the amendment, any officer promoted to field marshal, marshal of the air force, or admiral of the fleet will now retain rank and privileges for life, remain in uniform, and enjoy immunity from criminal proceedings.Such protections were previously only reserved for the head of state.”This constitutional amendment will increase authoritarianism and whatever little semblance of democracy existed in this country will fade away,” said Osama Malik, an Islamabad-based lawyer.”It will not only remove civilian oversight from the military’s activities, it will also completely destroy the military hierarchy where all service chiefs were considered equal under the joint chief system,” he told AFP.Pakistan, a nuclear-armed nation of more than 250 million people, has long struggled to balance civilian authority with the military’s role in politics.The amendment also shields President Asif Ali Zardari from any criminal prosecution, although that immunity will not apply if he or any other former president later holds another public office.Zardari has faced multiple graft cases, although proceedings were previously stayed.He signed the bill into law following the parliamentary vote.- ‘Deeply undemocratic’ -Opposition parties, led by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), tore up copies of the bill in both chambers over the past few days.The amendment also bars courts from questioning any constitutional change “on any ground whatsoever”.The bill also creates a Federal Constitutional Court with exclusive jurisdiction over constitutional cases, stripping the Supreme Court of its original powers and transferring pending petitions.Another clause empowers the president to transfer High Court judges on the recommendation of the Judicial Commission, a change critics say could be used to sideline dissenting judges.”This is the final nail in the coffin of an independent judiciary and a functioning democracy,” PTI spokesman Sayed Zulfiqar Bukhari told AFP.PTI secretary general Salman Akram Raja described the amendment as “deeply undemocratic at its core”.”They have given lifetime immunity from criminal prosecution to the president and created a system that concentrates power in one military office,” he told AFP. The Senate initially passed the bill on Monday. It was then tweaked and passed by the National Assembly, the lower house, two days later before returning to the upper house for final approval.”Sixty-four members are in favour of the passage of the bill and four members are against, so the motion is carried,” Senate Chairman Yusuf Raza Gilani said on Thursday.It also cleared the 336-member lower house with the required two-thirds majority.

India’s top-ranked men’s tennis player Sumit Nagal said China denied him a visa weeks before he was set to appear at an Australian Open qualifying tournament in southwestern Sichuan.”I am supposed to fly to China soon to represent India at the Australian Open Playoff. But my visa was rejected without reason,” Nagal said on Tuesday in a post to social media platform X.Nagal, 28, is ranked world number 275. He represented India at the Tokyo and Paris Olympics and reached a career-high 68th in 2024.He lost in the first round of the Australian Open earlier this year and the second round in 2024 in his two previous main draw appearances at Melbourne Park.The week-long Australian Open Asia-Pacific Wildcard Play-off begins on November 24. Winners will earn entry into the opening Grand Slam of 2026 in Melbourne.The tournament said “players should contact the Chinese consulate for information regarding… visa requirements” and could request a letter of invitation.The tournament did not respond to AFP’s requests for comment.When asked about Nagal’s apparent visa denial, China’s foreign ministry said on Thursday it “hoped the relevant individual will submit application materials according to requirements of the Chinese embassy in India.”China will, in accordance with rules and regulations, review and issue visas for all athletes including Indian (athletes) coming to compete in China,” ministry spokesman Lin Jian said.AFP has asked Nagal’s agent for comment.India and China, which share a contested Himalayan border, resumed direct flights last month after a five-year suspension due to the pandemic and subsequent geopolitical tensions.The neighbours and world’s two most populous nations remain strategic rivals competing for regional influence, but ties have eased gradually since a deadly border clash in 2020.

India captain Shubman Gill said on Thursday fast bowlers could play a key role in the opening Test against South Africa, although spinners usually have the final say in home conditions.The pitch at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens is expected to behave like a typical Indian surface — offering good batting conditions over the first couple of days when the Test begins on Friday before assisting spin from day three.However, the early morning moisture in eastern India could bring the quicks into play.With Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj in the lineup, India will be counting on their ability to exploit reverse swing.”I think generally fast bowlers get a little help in the morning and evening,” Gill told reporters on the eve of the two-match series.”Whenever we play in India, more or less the spinners decide the game.”The better the quality of the spin attack you have, the better chances you have of winning the match,” he said.India’s spin options for the opener include Ravindra Jadeja (left-arm orthodox), Washington Sundar (off-spin), Axar Patel (left-arm orthodox) and Kuldeep Yadav (left-arm wrist spin).It could be a toss-up between fielding a third seamer or an extra spinner in the India XI.”Even the England series that we played in 2024, the crucial wickets in between were taken by the fast bowlers — even though the wickets were spin-friendly,” said Gill.”So if you can get the ball reversing, the fast bowlers are always in the game.”India boast of a strong Test record at home and registered a 2-0 whitewash against the West Indies last month.It was Gill’s first home assignment as Test captain after he led the team to a 2-2 draw in a five-Test series in England as new skipper.Gill, 26, is one of the few players in the current Indian set-up to play all three formats, and is fresh from a 2-1 T20 triumph in Australia.”The challenge is definitely more mental than it is physical,” Gill said.”Bodily, I feel fine. Mentally, it can be challenging at times because the requirements for different formats in different places of the world is different… it’s a good challenge and a good learning curve for me.”Gill said a series win over reigning World Test champions South Africa would boost India’s ambition to make the final of the current cycle of the WTC.”These two Tests are going to be very important to qualify for the WTC final,” Gill said.

Sri Lanka’s cricket board said Thursday that its players will remain in Pakistan to complete a one-day international series and a subsequent T20 tri-series, with all games to be played in Rawalpindi.At least eight players had asked to leave over security fears after Tuesday’s suicide bombing in Islamabad that killed 12 people and wounded 27.Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) said the decision to stay for next week’s tri-series, which also includes Zimbabwe, was taken after “close consultations” with hosts Pakistan who had given security assurances.Sri Lanka Cricket had threatened disciplinary action against any players who tried to leave Pakistan.”We lined up substitute players to be sent to continue with the tournament, but now that the squad has agreed to stay, we won’t be sending anyone,” an SLC official told AFP.All tri-series fixtures will now be played in Rawalpindi, which neighbours Islamabad, but has heavy security. Originally four of the six round-robin matches and the final had been scheduled to take place in Lahore.The ODI series was already being played in Rawalpindi, with the second match put back by a day to Friday and the third, originally due on Saturday, moved to Sunday.The T20 tri-series was scheduled to start on Monday but will also begin a day later with the final now also a day later on November 29.”Grateful to the Sri Lankan team for their decision to continue the Pakistan tour,” said Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Mohsin Naqvi on social media. “The spirit of sportsmanship and solidarity shines bright.”Six Sri Lankan players were wounded in March 2009 when gunmen opened fire on their team bus as it was taking them to Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore for a Test match.The incident led to international teams staying away from Pakistan for nearly a decade.Pakistan beat Sri Lanka by six runs in the opening ODI in Rawalpindi on Tuesday, a game that went ahead despite the suicide attack in nearby Islamabad.The PCB said security around the visiting team had been tightened following the attack.Naqvi met Sri Lankan players at their Islamabad hotel on Wednesday and assured them of their safety, Sri Lankan officials said, adding that the number of guards for the squad has been doubled.

In a recording studio in Dhaka, voiceover artist Rubaiya Matin Gity dubs the latest Turkish soap opera to become a megahit in Bangladesh — a pop-culture trend that reflects growing ties between the two countries.”Yasmeen! Yasmeen! I have fallen in love…” the 32-year-old actor cried in Bangla, her eyes fixed on the screen playing new episodes of Turkish drama “Kara Sevda”, or “Endless Love”, which has captivated millions of viewers in the South Asian nation.The success of Turkish shows, challenging the once-unrivalled popularity of Indian television dramas, is the sign of a change that extends far beyond Bangladeshi screens.It mirrors shifting alliances and expanding diplomatic, trade and defence relations between the two Muslim-majority nations, 5,000 kilometres (3,000 miles) apart.More Turkish restaurants are opening in Bangladesh and there is a general interest in learning the language, coupled with rekindled warmth between the two governments, set against increasingly fractious relations between Dhaka and New Delhi.An interim government has led Bangladesh since an uprising last year toppled the autocratic rule of Sheikh Hasina — who fled to old ally India, where she has resisted extradition, turning relations between the two neighbours icy.- ‘New opportunities’ -Ties between Ankara and Dhaka have not always been smooth, but they “are growing stronger now,” said Md Anwarul Azim, professor of international relations at the University of Dhaka.”The relationship faltered twice,” he said, first in 1971 when Bangladesh separated from Pakistan, and then in 2013, when Dhaka hanged men accused of war crimes during the independence struggle.Bilateral trade remains modest, but Azim noted that Turkey offers Bangladesh an alternative to its reliance on China as its main weapons supplier.Ankara’s defence industry boss Haluk Gorgun visited Dhaka in July, and Bangladesh’s army chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman is expected in Turkey later this month to discuss production of military equipment.Bangladesh has also shown interest in Turkish drones, technology Ankara has reportedly supplied to Pakistan, India’s arch-enemy.Dhaka’s interim leader, Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, said he was “focused on further deepening” ties with Ankara, after meeting a Turkish parliamentary delegation this month.”Bangladesh stands ready to work hand in hand with Turkiye to unlock new opportunities for our people,” Yunus said.- Classes, clothes and horses -Alongside formal ties, cultural links are also deepening.Ezaz Uddin Ahmed, 47, head of programming at the channel that pioneered Turkish dramas in Bangladesh, said that Deepto TV has “a dedicated team of translators, scriptwriters, voice artists and editors” working to meet the growing demand.Its breakout hit came in 2017 with a historical epic that eclipsed Indian serials and “surpassed all others” in terms of popularity, Ahmed said.Riding on that success, Deepto TV and other Bangladeshi broadcasters snapped up more Turkish imports — from Ottoman sagas to contemporary family dramas.Interest in the Turkish language has followed suit, with several leading institutions now offering courses.”I have 20 students in a single batch,” said Sheikh Abdul Kader, a trainer and economics lecturer at Jagannath University. “There is growing demand.”For some, the love for all things Turkish doesn’t end there.Business owner Tahiya Islam, 33, has launched a Turkish-themed clothing line, and inspired by Ottoman traditions, even took up horseback riding.”During the Ottoman era, couples used to go out on horseback,” she said. “Now, my husband rides too — and I even have my own horse.”