Footage from Smethwick showed police on the scene as a large group of masked and hooded young men gathered at the Durga Bhawan Hindu temple, with witnesses claiming bottles and firecrackers were thrown, Daily Mail reported.
The police were seen with riot helmets and shields confronting the crowd, believed to be predominantly Muslim men, and attempting to move them away from the temple wile protesters climbed the surrounding boundary fence.
As per the footage, many were heard raising slogans of 'Allahu Akbar'.
British Muslim ‘gangsta’ in Leicester rallying other fellow Muslim youth against Hindus amidst “Allah-O-Akbar” slogans. pic.twitter.com/4atlTO2uIf
— Tarek Fatah (@TarekFatah) September 20, 2022
The scenes echoed those seen in Leicester just days earlier where sectarian clashes took place over Saturday and Sunday, with Leicestershire Police arresting 47 people, as tensions boiled over following a recent cricket match between India and Pakistan.
Footage of violence breaking out after the cricket match on August 28 was shared widely on social media and the police have since asserted the incident was not initially along religious lines.
But the people of Leicester say the relationship between the two communities has been strained for months, instead labelling the cricket match as a 'trigger' for the latest bout of disorder.
Community leaders in Leicester have appealed for calm after claiming outsiders were coming to the city to sow disorder by spreading false information to stir up religious tension.
Leicestershire Police said they are investigating attacks on both communities, including assaults on Muslim men and the egging of a Hindu family's home, Daily Mail reported.
But not all incidents reported or shared online have been found to be truthful. Claims that a Muslim girl had been kidnapped by Hindu men in Leicester were disproved by police, while mosque leaders disputed claims that Hindus had stormed the building and shouted at people who were praying, according to the Times.
After being informed of the planned protest on Tuesday night, it is understood the temple in Smethwick cancelled the event where a controversial speaker had been due to address members.
But the protest still went ahead with West Midlands Police tweeting they were aware of the event and were working with faith leaders and others to monitor the situation.
Some footage of my interview with helmet man, that snowballed into a shouting match with an RSS member. Compared to the palpable aggression and fear that hung around Leicester yesterday, this paled in comparison, although it is a concerning hazard of being a journalist. pic.twitter.com/eQU9Yo4KFo
— Aina J. Khan (@ainajkhan) September 18, 2022
A spokesman added: "We always seek to find the right balance between the rights of protesters and those of local residents and businesses, while working to minimise serious disruption to communities.
"We have a long history of facilitating peaceful protest, and upholding the right to protest, while balancing it with the rights of others to keep the public safe, prevent crime and disorder."
Local councillor Ahmad Bostan condemned the scenes, writing: 'The despicable scenes witnessed in Smethwick tonight do not represent the harmonious rich diversity of our town and those who came with ill intentions will be dealt with by the law.
'Our communities stand together against such bigotry and the peddlers of hate are not welcome here.'
A witness on green lane road where they marched, shared how these men swore at women peeping out of their windows and doors. There were some violent scuffles too. She has locked her shop door for fear of retaliation, after seeing this unfold on her doorstep. pic.twitter.com/Xj14NlNY0I
— Aina J. Khan (@ainajkhan) September 18, 2022
Chasing 194, India resumed the day at 110/5 but kept losing wickets, including the one of captain Virat Kohli (51), to fall short by 31 runs.
For England, medium-pacer Ben Stokes was lethal, taking the important wickets of Kohli and Hardik Pandya (31) on the day. The right-armer ended up with figures of 4/40 in the second innings for a match haul of six wickets.
England's rookie bowling all-rounder Sam Curran was adjudged the Man of the Match. The 20-year-old picked up a total of five wickets. This included a four-wicket haul in the first innings when he destroyed the much hyped Indian top order.
The youngster was impressive with the bat as well. He emerged as the highest scorer in England's second innings with a quick-fire 63 which propelled the hosts to a strong lead.
For the visitors, there was very little positives to take away from the series opener.
Just like the first innings, Kohli was the only saving grace for the visitors in the second innings as well. The Indian skipper scored a gritty 51 before being trapped lbw by Ben Stokes.
Apart from Kohli, star off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin and pacers Ishant Sharma and Mohammed Shami were the only other Indians who managed leave a mark.
Ashwin troubled the England batsmen in both innings to emerge with a match haul of seven wickets. Ishant was impressive in the second innings with figures of 5-51 while Shami bagged three wickets during the hosts' first essay.
Overall, the Indian bowlers turned in a satisfactory performance while most of the batsmen failed miserably.
Starting the day needing 84 runs to win, the visitors' job was made even more difficult when Dinesh Karthik was caught in the slips after edging a delivery from James Anderson.
Hardik Pandya joined Kohli in the middle but the duo could could hold the England bowlers at bay for only around 10 overs before the latter fell victim to a misjudged shot.
As the Delhi batsman trudged back into the pavilion, India's hopes of winning the Test seemed to vanish along with him.
An England victory was only a matter of time from then.
Stokes, who was understandably ecstatic after dismissing Kohli, claimed Mohammed Shami's wicket later in that same over to plunge India into further trouble.
Ishant and Pandya were dismissed within a short span of each other as the hosts claimed a deserving victory.
Brief scores:
England: 287 & 180 vs India: 274 & 162 (Virat Kohli 51, Hardik Pandya 31; Ben Stokes 4/40).
After bowling out the hosts for 180 in their second innings at tea, Indian batters once again failed in the second innings as apart from Kohli, no other batsmen stood up to the occasion and went back cheaply.
Kohli and Dinesh Karthik (18) were at the crease when umpires dislodged the bails for the day.
India's star off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, who dismissed former skipper Alastair Cook for a duck on Thursday evening to leave the hosts reeling at 9/1, started off the proceedings on Friday and immediately succeeded in packing back an in-form Jennings, caught beautifully by Lokesh Rahul at second slip.
Struggling at 18/2, Root along with new man Malan played out Ashwin watchfully but the offie constantly kept asking questions before prevailing over the English captain.
Root fell while trying to pull Ashwin only to find the ball landing in the safe hands of Rahul at leg slip before Ishant joined the party in rocking the English line-up.
The lanky Delhi pacer first dismissed Malan caught by Ajinkya Rahane, before packing Bairstow and Stokes within a span of three balls.
While Bairstow fell to the safe hands of Shikhar Dhawan at second slip, one ball later Stokes was brilliantly caught by skipper Virat Kohli at third slip as England started looking down the barrel at the break and could only manage to swell their second innings lead to 99 runs at lunch.
The second session saw England only managing to add another 74 runs, thanks to Sam Curran's sensational 63 off 65 deliveries, even as pacer Ishant Sharma (5/51) continued with his fine rhythm to trouble the lower batting order of the hosts.
England lost Jos Buttler (1) in the second ball of the session. The right-handed batsman couldn't handle a delivery from Ishant Sharma, who picked his fourth wicket. Buttler provided a thin top edge which went to the hands of wicket-keeper Dinesh Karthik.
Afterwards, 20-year-old Curran and Adil Rashid (16) tried their best in a 48-run stand for the eighth wicket. Paceman Umesh Yadav rattled the stumps of Rashid, who survived 40 deliveries.
Curran stood out as he took the attack to the opposition bowlers by going after them. He was not even afraid of off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, whose venomous spin fell the top three English batsmen.
Curran did get some help from Stuart Broad, who scored 11 off 28 deliveries. The youngster contniued his assault on the Indians. India saw a couple of edges not getting into the hands of the fielders.
Left-hander Broad could only edge an away moving ball from Ishant as it landed in the hands of Shikhar Dhawan at first slip.
Then, Curran's innings ended when he cut off a short and wide delivery from Umesh that went into the hands of Karthik, brining an end to the second innings of England, who have a 13-run lead after posting 287.
In the third session, India came to chase 194, but English bowlers made it difficult for the batsmen right from the start as the hosts started pressurizing the Indian batters.
The success came in the sixth over when India's Murali Vijay (6) was dismissed by pacer Stuart Broad. In the very next over Shikhar Dhawan (13) was also sent packing by Broad.
Lokesh Rahul (13) also failed as he was dismissed by Ben Stokes when scoreboard was reading 46.
With three batsmen in dug-out, it was all dependet on Kohli but lack of support costed India in the last session. Ajinkya Rahane (2) and Ashwin (13) were also sent back to the pavilion cheaply.
The scoreboard was reading 78/5 when Karthik joined hands with Kohli. The duo played sensibly and helped India end the day's play without losing anymore wickets.
For England, Broad took two wickets while James Anderson, Stokes and Curran chipped in with one wicket each.
Replying to England's 287, Kohli -- dropped twice by Dawid Malan off James Anderson -- scored a gritty 149, his innings laced with 22 fours and a six, to enable the visitors trim the first innings deficit to 13 runs.
For the hosts, Sam Curran returned career's best figures of 4/74 while pace spearhead Anderson (2/41), Adil Rashid (2/31) and Ben Stokes (2/73) accounted for the rest of the wickets.
The icing on the cake for India in the brief second innings spell was when offie Ravichandran Ashwin castled former skipper Alistair Cook for a duck in exact fashion like the first innings.
Cook was drawn forward as the ball pitched on middle stump to zip past him and hit the off stump. Keaton Jennings was not out on 5 at the close of play.
Earlier, resuming the third session 160/6 and still trailing by a good margin, Kohli continued his solo act after bringing up his half century just before tea albeit being grassed twice by Malan.
India lost Ashwin (10) just after the break, the 31-year old clean-bowled by Anderson who claimed his first wicket of the day.
Mohammed Shami (2) did not last long, Anderson taking his wicket too before Kohli upped the ante and stitched stands of 35 and 57 runs with tailenders Ishant Sharma (5) and Umesh Yadav (1 not out). From 182/8, the skipper dragged his team to 274.
Kohli, who exorcised the ghosts of the 2014 England tour, brought up his hundred by hitting Stokes for a four and roaring towards the stands to then kiss his wedding ring as wife Anushka Sharma watched from the stands.
From then on, he added the next 49 runs in brisk pace knowing they had only one wicket in hand.
Kohli finally fell to Rashid, cutting a short and wide delivery to Stuart Broad but the job was already done.
The worry for India would be that none of the other visiting batsmen reached the 30-run mark.
The day began with England managing to add just two runs to their overnight total of 285 runs in their first innings.
India needed just 10 balls on the second day to end England's innings, that slipped from a comfortable 216/3 to 287.
Pacer Mohammed Shami, who started the proceedings along with Ashwin, got Curran (24) caught behind by wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik. Karthik had dropped Curran on the opening day off the same bowler.
India then squandered a watchful start to slip to 76/3 at lunch as Kohli remained undefeated with Rahane.
India got off to a near perfect start with the opening duo of Murali Vijay (20) and Shikhar Dhawan (26) putting on a 50-run stand.
But the introduction of Curran turned the tide in England's favour. Curran's three-wicket burst in eight balls reduced India to 59/3 in no time even as Rahane joined his captain to sneak in a few singles before heading for the break.
It was Kohli show from there on as he notched his 17th Test fifty off 100 balls but was dropped twice either side of his fifty.
India kept losing wickets with Karthik (0) and Pandya -- who added 48 runs for the sixth wicket with his skipper -- falling at regular intervals.
Brief Scores: England 287 & 9/1 (Keaton Jennings 5; R Ashwin 1/5) vs India 274 (Virat Kohli 149, Shikhar Dhawan 26, Hardik Pandya 22, Sam Curran 4/74).
Sam Curran (24) and James Anderson (0) were at the crease when umpires dislodged the bails for the day.
Resuming the final session from 163/3, England batters failed to utilize the batting-friendly conditions at the Edgbaston Cricket Ground and went back back one after the other.
For India, star off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin took four wickets while Mohammad Shami took two wickets. Umesh Yadav and Ishant Sharma scalped one wicket each.
Earlier, electing to bat under slightly damp conditions, the England openers -- Alastair Cook (13) and Keaton Jennings (42) -- had no trouble in dealing with the India quicks as they soon raised 26 runs, before Ashwin was brought in as early as the seventh over of the innings.
The off-spinner immediately delivered with the wicket of Cook, even as Jennings survived a dropped chance and a few inside-edges.A
Cook's departure brought in skipper Joe Root, who together with Jennings started the repair work and forged a 57-run second wicket stand and ensured there were no more hiccups in the opening session.
The tea session saw India pacer Mohammad Shami taking Jennings' (42) wicket in his very first over.
Jennings, who did all the hard work facing 98 balls, fell while defending Shami's short-pitched ball which dislodged his off bail.
Shami immediately jolted the hosts again trapping new man Dawid Malan (8) plumb in front to reduce them to 112/3 in no time.
Thereafter, Root, who in the meantime got past 6,000 Test runs, along with Bairstow started the repair work with caution.
Together the right-handers forged an unbeaten 51-run stand for the fourth wicket and guided England safely to the tea break at 163/3.
The final session is all about the Indian bowlers, especially Ashwin. The experienced spinner bowled some difficult lines to the England batters which resulted in the quick wickets.
Root (80) and Jonny Bairstow (70), however, put some fight but some brilliant fielding and bowling from Virat Kohli and Umesh Yadav, respectively, saw the departure of both batsmen.
After that, there was no looking back for the India bowlers as they kept on taking wickets at regular intervals.
Middle-order batsmen Jos Buttler (0) and Ben Stokes (21) also failed to step up to the occasion and was dismissed early. The duo was dismissed by Ashwin.
Continuing his mayhem, Ashwin kept the pressure on with Ishant and they dismissed Stuart Broad (1) and Adil Rashid (13) cheaply. But the last wicket -- Anderson and Curran -- somehow managed to survive the day without losing their wickets.
India have not won a Test series in England since 2007, achieved under the captaincy of Rahul Dravid. And now under the captaincy of Virat Kohli, India are bracing up for a stern test in difficult English conditions.
In this long tour of England, India won the Twenty20 International (T20I) series but they suffered a set-back in the three-match One-Day International (ODI) rubber.
Following the loss in the ODIs, India will look to make a strong comeback -- but in a different format which challenges every cricketer to the hilt.
However, India must take heart from the way they fought against South Africa away even though they lost the series 1-2. India were impressive in all of the three Tests but in the first two Tests, they let the hosts off the hook. In the third Test, India pulled off a brilliant win which should give the side confidence and belief that no matter what the conditions are, the team is capable enough to at least be competitive.
The biggest positive from the South Africa tour was the fact that the bowlers managed to pick 10 South African wickets in each of the six innings.
Moreover, many experts have tipped the current pace bowling unit as India's best in years and they will also look to make the best use of the seam-friendly wickets.
While Bhuvenshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah will be out of action for the first three Tests, Kohli will leave out one of Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav and Shardul Thakur in his fast bowling attack, which will be further boosted by all-rounder Hardik Pandya.
Considering it is a long five-match series, India need to be wary of the physical toll on the pacers and Kohli will have to utilise them smartly. The pacers will need to fire collectively and be ready at every opportunity because rotation will be a key factor.
India may field one spinner and that could be a big decision to make. The experienced Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja have shouldered the responsibility to lead the spin attack for a long time but the inclusion of chinaman Kuldeep Yadav has made the issue interesting as the skipper is likely to go with any one of them.
Jadeja is expected to be the least-expected to be picked. What could favour Ashwin is his experience and his handy batting skills.
Kuldeep impressed everyone in the recently-concluded limited overs game against the hosts but playing a five-day game will be a completely different scenario and the skipper might be tempted to include him in the playing XI.
Meanwhile, the keeping gloves is likely to be handed to Dinesh Karthik ahead of young Rishabh Pant as the former carries more experience than the Delhi stumper.
India also have a couple of crucial calls to make in the batting department. The form and performance of top-order batsmen Shikhar Dhawan and Cheteshwar Pujara has been a worry, even as voices have been growing for Lokesh Rahul's selection to open the batting with Murali Vijay.
Dhawan struggled in the T2OI series before making scores of 40, 36, 44 in the ODIs. While he made a pair of ducks in the warm-up game against Essex ahead of the Tests to help his critics, Rahul made 58 in the middle order and 36 not out when given the chance to open in the second innings. Pujara posted scores of 1 and 23 against Essex.
Vijay, Kohli and vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane are proven performers in the overseas conditions and India will rely on them to put big scores.
To counter them, England will depend on their pace bowlers who will look to exploit the home conditions to the fullest. James Anderson (540 wickets in 138 Tests) and Stuart Broad (417 wickets in 118 Tests) have huge experience and they will be supported by youngster Sam Curran and all-rounder Ben Stokes in the first Test, captain Joe Root confirmed his line-up on Tuesday.
There has been a lot of controversy around leg-spinner Adil Rashid's comeback into Test after quitting the longest format two years ago. He has been picked for the first Test after an impressive ODI series outing.
Stokes will give the balance to the English team with his batting and bowling and will be eager to prove his value in the series.
He, along with, Alastair Cook, Root, Jos Buttler and Jonny Bairstow will have the bulk of responsibility of scoring runs. For the first Test which will be England's 1000th, the hosts have picked two young batsmen in Keaton Jennings and Dawid Malan -- both will be desperate to justify their captain's faith in them.
Birmingham 2022, which is expected to take place from July 27 to August 7 2022, marks 20 years since Manchester 2002, the last time the Games were held in England.
CGF President Louise Martin CBE said: "We warmly congratulate Birmingham and England on today's announcement -- it is a defining moment for this truly Commonwealth city.
"With its rich history, cultural diversity, youthful dynamism and ambitious spirit, Birmingham embodies all that we cherish about the Commonwealth, and so the Commonwealth Sports Movement looks forward to collaborating with all the Games partners to showcase the city's humanity and pride to a global audience over the coming months and years.
"The vast majority of the Games venues are in place, and with extensive experience in the UK of hosting successful major events -- including Manchester 2002, London 2012 and Glasgow 2014 -- the CGF looks forward to a truly spectacular Games that delivers not only for the 2.4 billion citizens across the Commonwealth but the wider world, too.
The CGF President also thanked Canada, Malaysia and Australia for the continued interest expressed in hosting a future Commonwealth Games, and confirmed that the Commonwealth Games Associations (CGAs) in these countries have signalled their potential hosting interest in either 2026 or 2030.
The film, which is a powerful plea for Hindu-Muslim unity and religious harmony, received the audience award for best film at LIFF.
Kaushik (co-producer) tweeted on Saturday: "Hurrah! After awards at IFFLA, Palm Springs, FOTC in France our film now wins top prize at LIFF. Congrats to team."
The film has earlier won at Flight of the Conchords in France, Palm Springs International Film Festival in California, BFI London Film Festival and the Busan International Film Festival in South Korea.
Veteran actor Anupam Kher congratulated Kaushik saying: "Well done Kaushik Saab. You are the best."
Directed by Padmakumar Narasimhamurthy, "A Billion Colour Story" features Swapnil Ralkar, Rashmi Somvanshi, Gaurav Sharma, Vasuki, Dhruva Padmakumar and Vauka Sunkavalli.
"@YUVSTRONG12 just so proud of everything u achieved ..300th game big milestone ..another World Cup to go before u get old," Ganguly, who is also in England doing commentary, tweeted moments before the high-voltage game began at Edgbaston.
Harbhajan Singh, who won the 2011 World Cup with Yuvraj under skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, said in a video message: " Hello friends. Today, I am going to talk about someone very special, who is very close to my heart -- my friend, my brother -- Yuvraj Singh.
"Yuvi is playing his 300th match for India today. It is a big achievement. Congratulations Yuvi for playing all these years and these many games! When we were young, we never thought that I would play 100 Tests and you 300 ODI matches. God has been really kind to us! And our friendship has remained the same."
"You are a true champion Yuvi! You are a winner both in life and on field. And I hope you achieve victory even in your 300th match today and I pray that you are declared the Man of the Match! God bless you brother! I am really proud of you," Harbhajan said.
Yuvraj has become only the fifth Indian cricketer to play over 300 ODIs. Besides the 2011 World Cup, where Yuvraj was adjudged Man-of-the-Series for his stellar show throughout the tournament, the dashing left-hander known for his clean hitting of the cricket ball won the 2007 T20 World Cup where he hit England pacer Stuart Broad for six sixes in a single over.
Yuvraj has so far amassed 8,622 runs from his 299 ODIs, scoring 14 hundreds and 52 fifties.
There were two things that stood out about his spell in the England second innings at Birmingham. The first, of course, was that the wickets, for a change, came in a heap. In a remarkable spell of relentless, probing fast bowling, he had four scalps in quick succession on either side of the lunch break: Dawid Malan (20), Johny Bairstow (28), Ben Stokes (6) and Jose Buttler (1). Each of these batsmen could have taken the game away from India. Ishant snared Malan just when he was beginning to stitch a partnership with Bairstow, who had shown what he can do in only his last innings. And we all know what Stokes is capable of. Butler is not a slouch with the bat either. In sending these four back to the pavilion, he effectively broke the back of the English batting. He returned for one final burst during which he induced an edge from the dangerous Stuart Broad and had him smartly picked up by Dhawan at slip.
The second thing to note about his bowling on Friday was that all the five batsmen who fell to him were caught behind the wicket; four in the slips and the fifth, Buttler, by keeper Karthick. Ishant’s stock ball has always been the one coming into the batsman. His outswingers have always lacked venom and therefore seldom induced the edges. Hence, the vast majority of his victims have either been left handers caught in the slip cordon or right handers struck on the pads in front of the wicket to balls angled in to get out lbw. But it was a refreshingly different story on Friday as Ishy moved the ball both ways and consistently at that. Out of his five victims, three were left-handers and two right-handers. That’s proof of the fact that he moved the ball away from both left and right handers.
The performance of Ishant Sharma, fondly called Ishy by teammates, at Edgbaston took the mind back to that unforgettable spell he bowled to Ricky Ponting, then at the peak of his powers, at Perth in January, 2008. Seldom had the batsman, touted as the next best thing to Tendulkar (at least by the Australians!), looked so vulnerable before. The Australian captain looked distinctly uncomfortable, even terrified, as young Ishant’s thunderbolts kept coming in at speeds touching the 150 km/hr mark – and at an awkward height for Ponting - over after over. Ponting took several blows on his body as he tried desperately to fend off his balls. Just as he was beginning to breathe a little easier after watching Anil Kumble handing the ball to another bowler (can’t recall who it was), the street-smart Virender Sehwag came running in from mid-on and was seen pleading with the captain. For those who had failed to pick up the conversation on the stump mike, the inimitable Harsha Bhogle announced it to the world thus. Sehwag to Kumble; “Ek over aur dalne do Ishy ko.” Kumble: “Dus over dal chuka hai. Aur dal paaega?” Sehwag: “Kyon nahin, Ranji mein 12-12 over hamehsa dalta hai.” Kumble then calls Ishy asks him, “Aur ek over daloge?” “Dalunga,” the young lad nods his head. And sure enough, Ponting is caught by Rahul Dravid at second slip off only the second ball of the over that could well have been bowled by someone else! This is the kind of stuff that folklores are made of.
It is such a shame such performances have not come consistently and frequently enough for this honest, hard-working guy. But there has been one thing that he has done consistently well all his career: dogged batting. And he did it again in the first innings of this Test. Coming in at 182-8, he built an invaluable partnership of 35 – of which he himself scored only five – with captain Virat Kohli for the ninth wicket that could well prove crucial in this rather low-scoring match. His ability to stick around not only helped his team get closer to the England total, it also gave Kohli the confidence to launch a savage attack on the tiring English bowlers. For some strange reason, Ishy chose not to review the lbw decision that sent him packing. The replays clearly showed the ball from Adil Rsahid was missing the leg stump. But Ishy had done his job, as he has done on numerous occasions in the past – most memorably at Mohali against the mighty Australia in 2010. Ishy, the bowler, may not have won too many matches for India. But Ishy, the batsman, certainly won a memorable match on this occasion. Coming in at 124/8 in pursuit of a victory target of 205, Ishy did what he does best: digging in. He gave solid company to VVS Laxman, who reveled in such situations, and put up 81 runs, out of which he scored 31 not out, to seal the Aussies’ fate.
There has always been a lot to admire about this lanky Delhi lad (who has done a remarkably good job of staying lanky after 11 years in Test cricket!) since he made his Test debut in 2007. He has always been a game and relentless trier; running in over after over, bowling long spells all day, maintaining a consistent line and length and seldom giving much away. An economy rate of 3.23 over a career spanning 82 Tests is testimony to his remarkable discipline and consistency. But it is in the wickets column that he has really lacked the numbers. 236 wickets in 82 Tests is just not good enough for a man who is the senior pro in the team now. Nor is a haul of just one 10-for in a match and 7 five-fors in a career spanning over a decade much to crow about.
Of course, part of the reason for the lack of numbers in the last column is a remarkable feature of his rather unremarkable Test career; the number of catches dropped off his bowling. Not for nothing has he been called the ‘unluckiest’ bowler in recent memory. Ishy would be fully justified in claiming that his career haul would have been upwards of 300 had all – or, even 75% - of the catches dropped off his bowling been taken. Not that he has ever complained. The tallest man in the team is also among the nicest guys around, the ultimate team player. He has gamely sat out of matches, happily yielding his place in the playing eleven to bowlers much younger (and not always better), not complaining once.
If India do win the Edgbaston Test today, Kohli is certain to walk away with the Man of the Match award for his remarkable batting exploits. And there is no disputing the merits of such a decision. But the team would know that it was Ishy’s splendid spell on Friday afternoon and his dogged batting the day before that they have to thank for this victory. Even if India end up on the losing side in the Test, the team would take heart from this performance from the premier fast bowler and give hope for better things to come in the Tests ahead.
Nice guys do win once in a while, after all. Well done, Ishy!
(DISCLAIMER: This is an opinion piece. The views expressed are author’s own and have nothing to do with OTV’s charter or views. OTV does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same)
"The local councils in the three cities granted us license to offer taxi and private hire vehicles to commuters in Birmingham, Liverpool and Reading," said the city-based firm in a statement here.
Ola forayed into Britain in August 2018, with maiden service in Cardiff, followed by similar rides in Bath, Bristol and Exeter in November.
The company's online platform is also offering discounted rides on its app (application) to new customers across seven cities in the UK.
"Our app also provides travel choice and easier access to cabs. We offered free rides to customers in Liverpool on green tuk-tuks last week to promote our service," said the statement.
"To empower drivers, we offer revenue share, charging 10 per cent commission to black cabs and 15 per cent to private hire cabs as against 25 per cent by competitors," said Ola UK Managing Director Ben Legg in the statement.
"We got requests from users across Britain for our service in their cities. We work with local authorities to help communities grow and achieve enhanced transport access, safety and mobility across the cities," said Legg.
The company is committed to ensure passenger safety, with disclosure and barring service and screened drivers.
"We also offer 24-hour safety support with our in-app customer care and emergency service," added the statement.
Co-founded in 2011 by Bhavish Aggarwal and Ankit Bhati, Ola's ride-sharing service is available in 125 cities across the country and nine cities in Australia.