Pune police on Tuesday raided homes of prominent Left-wing activists in several states and arrested at least five of them -- poet Varavara Rao in Hyderabad, activists Vernon Gonzalves and Arun Ferreira in Mumbai, trade unionist and lawyer Sudha Bhardwaj in Faridabad and Chhattisgarh and civil liberties activist Gautam Navalakha in Delhi.
South Africa resorted to dogged stonewalling in their pursuit of an improbable 481-run victory target after Ajinkya Rahane stroked his second century of the match to tighten India's grip on the fourth and final Test on Sunday.
Kohli, who also led India to the top of the world's Test rankings during the period, received the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy, which team mate Ravichandran Ashwin had won last year.
South Africa's fiery seamer Duanne Olivier took five wickets as the hosts powered into the ascendancy on day two of the third and final Test against an outgunned Pakistan at the Wanderers on Saturday.
AB de Villiers' masterly 85 in his 100th test could not gloss over South Africa's spin frailty as India took charge of the second Test after dominating the opening day at Bengaluru's M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday.
Post tea, play was possible for 20 minutes before a thunderstorm washed away nearly an hour.
Morkel removed Zimbabwe's most experienced batsman Hamilton Masakadza with the first ball of their innings and Chamu Chibhabha and Brendan Taylor were also dismissed as the visitors made a tentative start under lights.
Pacer Ishwar Pandey took four wickets, including two with successive deliveries, but South Africa 'A' fought back through a fighting 84 from J P Duminy and his crucial partnerships with the tail-enders, in the first unofficial Test against India 'A', in Rustenburg, on Monday.
India captain Virat Kohli chalked up his seventh double hundred in Tests before his pacers claimed a few early wickets to leave South Africa reeling, on Day 2, of the second Test against South Africa at Pune.
Stokes now holds the record score for an England number six, beating Graham Hick's 187 against India in 1993, and became the first English centurion at Newlands for 50 years.
Khalid said that he was informed by Mevani about the threats, and he has not received any call himself till now.
South Africa have not asked for quick pitches to be prepared for their four-Test series against Australia, which starts in Durban on Thursday, after the ploy backfired just over a month ago, captain Faf du Plessis said on Wednesday.
Du Plessis had a tough time in 2015, scoring just 60 runs in seven innings.
Dane Piedt produced the best performance by a debutant South African spinner as the Proteas thumped Zimbabwe by nine wickets to retain their number one status following the one-off conTest at the Harare Sports Club on Tuesday.
Dale Steyn became South Africa's second highest wicket taker as West Indies reached 276 for six on the first day of the third Test on Friday.
Indian skipper Virat Kohli says his team never lost faith in itself despite the criticism that came with consecutive Test losses to South Africa, crediting this belief for the turnaround that gave the visitors a consolation win in Johannesburg.
On a pitch offering extensive lateral movement, a target of 175 could prove to be a match-winning one for India.
AB de Villiers has been ruled out of South Africa's two-test home series against New Zealand this month with an injured elbow and Faf du Plessis will take over the captaincy.
Skipper Virat Kohli's weakness outside the off-stump was again exposed as India plunged into deep trouble at 28 for three, after their bowlers dismissed South Africa for a modest 286, on the opening day of the first Test in Cape Town on Friday.
AB de Villiers and Dale Steyn make their long-awaited return to the South Africa Test squad for the day-night four-day Test match against Zimbabwe to be played at St. George's Park, Port Elizabeth, from December 26 to 29.
Australia ripped through South Africa's top order in the first hour, dismissed the tourists for 242 by tea and reached 105 without loss at close on the back of some Dave Warner fireworks on the opening day of the first Test on Thursday.
'For all of us it is just about converting and I am not different to any one of those players when I get to 50, I want to get a hundred'
Pakistan resumed their second innings needing a further 228 for victory with seven wickets in hand, but their chances faded when Olivier removed the dangerous Babar Azam (21) and captain Sarfraz Ahmed (0) in consecutive balls.
Kagiso Rabada produced a sublime spell of bowling to take five wickets as Australia were dismissed for 243 in their first innings on the opening day of the second Test on Friday.
South Africa reeled off their modest victory target of 41 runs early on the fourth day of the second Test against Pakistan to clinch the series with a comprehensive nine-wicket triumph at Newlands on Sunday.
Mayank Agarwal showed insatiable appetite for runs, converting his maiden Test hundred into a brilliant double before the Indian spinners tightened the noose around the exhausted South Africans on the second day of the first Test.
Indian cricket team stands a chance of making big gains in terms of International Cricket Council (ICC) Test ranking if they manage to register a 3-1 victory over Australia in their ongoing four-match series.
South Africa have included the world's number one test bowler Vernon Philander in their preliminary 30-man squad for the World Twenty20 tournament to be played in Bangladesh in March and April next year.
India A were back to winning ways as they defeated hosts South Africa 'A' by 18 runs via Duckworth Lewis Method in the second round-robin encounter of the tri-series tournament.
India failed to make the best of first use of the wicket, their batsmen capitulating against both pace and spin as they were dismissed for 215 in the first innings in the third Test against South Africa at the Vidarbha Cricket Association stadium, in Nagpur, on Wednesday. However, the hosts hit back immediately, claiming two early scalps, leaving the Proteas reeling on 11 for 2 after nine overs at the end of Day 1.
Seamer Jasprit Bumrah took five wickets as India seized control of the third and final Test against South Africa on Thursday, going to the close of the second day with a 42-run lead on a treacherous wicket at the Wanderers.
India might have wasted the advantage of winning the toss after being bundled out for a paltry 201 against South Africa, on Thursday, but batting coach Sanjay Bangar feels the hosts' first innings total is 'much bigger' than it looks on a slow and low pitch.
South Africa will be hoping to ease new coach Ottis Gibson into his job in a two-Test series against Bangladesh where the home side defend a one-sided record against their opponents but are light on fast bowlers and still tinkering with their top order.
'I cannot conceive of any reason than my unsparing criticism of government policies that the government picked me to send a message to many who dare to take it on.'
Minal Gadling, in her petition, claimed that all the arrested five, including her husband, have been in a false and mala fide way implicated in the case even when there was no involvement on their part in any such activity.
The 34-year-old Steyn, currently on a short-term contract with Hampshire having been plagued by injury over the last two-and-a-half years, is three wickets short of a milestone that has frustratingly eluded him in recent times.
The prosecution, while opposing the bail applications, had argued that they have "corrborative evidence" against the accused to prove their involvement in Maoist activities, such as mobilising cadres, recruiting students from eminent institutes and sending them to the interior to become "professional revolutionaries", raise funds and procure weapons.
Images from Day 4 of the second Test between South Africa and Australia in Port Elizabeth on Monday.
A staggering 20 wickets fell on a dramatic day as India shot out South Africa for a record-low first innings score of 79 before setting the visitors a formidable target of 310 to win the third and penultimate cricket Test and clinch the series.
India will be desperately hoping that Rohit replicates his limited overs success in the traditional format
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