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India’s enthralling series in England is going all the way to the finish after the resilient tourists drew the fourth Test at Old Trafford on Sunday.Record-breaking skipper Shubman Gill scored his fourth century of the campaign before Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar also made hundreds as India finished on 425-4 in their second innings — a lead of 114 runs — inside the last hour.England remain 2-1 up in this five-match contest ahead of a quick turnaround to Thursday’s start of an Oval finale. An India victory in south London would ensure a share of the spoils for Gill’s men in a series where the first four Tests have all gone to the last day.Defeat, rather than a draw, looked likely when India collapsed to 0-2 in the opening over of their second innings on Saturday as Chris Woakes struck with successive deliveries following England’s mammoth first-innings 669.But Gill, in on a hat-trick, went on to score 103 in a marathon seven-hour stint as he turned the tide during a stand of 188 with KL Rahul that ended before lunch on Sunday.Jadeja, reprieved first ball when Joe Root dropped a tough slip chance, went on to make 107 not out, his first century of the series following four fifties, with fellow spin-bowling all-rounder Sundar unbeaten on 101 — his maiden Test hundred.- ‘Brave effort’ -“I am extremely pleased with our batting effort over the past couple of days,” said Gill.”I think we were put under a lot of pressure, but the way we responded, especially after losing two wickets, was a very brave effort.”Sundar and Jadeja’s unbroken partnership of 203 on a flat pitch frustrated a toiling England, despite the best efforts of inspirational captain Ben Stokes.This match was a personal triumph for Stokes as he became just the fourth England cricketer to score a hundred and take five wickets in the same Test, his 141 on Saturday following a haul of 5-72 in India’s first-innings 358.But Stokes, who insisted “pain is just an emotion”, repeatedly clutched the top of his leg  — having had hamstring surgery earlier this year — and also suffered a bicep strain.”When you put in good performances for the team, the joy is dictated by how you feel at the end of the Test and the result,” said Stokes. “Obviously, I’d give the bottle of champagne and the medal (away) in a heartbeat if we were on the right side of the result.”India resumed on 174-2 with KL Rahul 87 not out and Gill 78 not out.Stokes, the leading bowler on either side this series with 17 wickets at 25.23, brought himself on at the start of Sunday’s play after not bowling Saturday and had obdurate opener Rahul, plumb lbw for 90 to a nip-back ball that kept low.And when Gill was caught behind off Jofra Archer, India were still not safe at 222-4.But Sundar and Jadeja, after his first ball reprieve, were largely untroubled.And even when Stokes braved the pain barrier again, Sundar pulled the England skipper for a six and a four off successive balls to reach fifty.Sunday’s closing stages became a question of whether either of India’s fifth-wicket duo would go to a hundred after Gill declined to take a draw immediately at the start of the last hour when Sundar was 80 not out and Jadeja unbeaten on 89.The match ended in farcical circumstances when batsman Harry Brook came on to bowl.Jadeja smashed a woeful Brook delivery for six to complete a 182-ball century before Gill’s two off the Yorkshireman took him to a 206-ball hundred — the last act of the match.”It got to that point where there was obviously only one result left on the table and I wasn’t going to be risking any of my frontline bowlers, especially with a quick turnaround,” said Stokes.Sundar and Jadeja received some verbal abuse from England fielders for carrying on towards the three-figure landmark, with Stokes telling reporters: “That partnership was massive, they played incredibly well and I don’t think there would have been too much more satisfaction at walking off 100 not out than 80 or 90.”

Under the drumbeat of artillery fire near Thailand’s border with Cambodia, farmer Samuan Niratpai refuses to abandon his buffalo herd — stubbornly risking his life to tend his livestock.”At 5:00am every day, I hear the loud bangs and booms. Then I run into the woods for cover,” the 53-year-old told AFP in the village of Baan Bu An Nong in Surin province, just 40 kilometres (25 miles) from the fraught frontier.His family of five fled to the capital Bangkok on the first day of clashes on Thursday, but he remains behind with their flock of chickens, three dogs and 14 prized buffalo.”How could I leave these buffaloes?” he asked, his eyes brimming with emotion. “I’d be so worried about them. After the strikes I go and console them, telling them ‘It’s okay. We’re together’.”Thailand and Cambodia’s clashes have entered their fourth day after a festering dispute over sacred temples ignited into cross-border combat being waged with jets, tanks and group troops.Peace talks between leaders are scheduled for Monday in Malaysia, the Thai government has said.In the meantime, at least 34 people have been killed on both sides, mostly civilians, and more than 200,000 have fled their homes along the 800-kilometre border — a rural area patched with rubber and rice farms.But on both sides of the tree-clad ridge marking the boundary between the two countries there are many who refuse to evacuate.As nearby blasts shake Cambodian restauranteur Soeung Chhivling’s eaterie she continues to prepare a beef dish, declining to abandon the kitchen where she cooks for troops and medics mobilised to fight Thailand.”I am also scared, but I want to cook so they have something to eat,” said the 48-year-old, near a hospital where wounded civilians and troops are being treated.”I have no plan to evacuate unless jets drop a lot of bombs,” she told AFP in Samraong city, just 20 kilometres from the Thai frontier, where most homes and shops are already deserted.- ‘I’d rather die at home’ -Back on the Thai side, Pranee Ra-ngabpai, a researcher on Thai-Cambodian border issues and a local resident, said many who have chosen to stay behind — like her own father — are men who hold traditional and stoic values.”He is still there in the house right now and refuses to leave,” Pranee said. “There’s this mindset: ‘If I die, I’d rather die at home’ or ‘I can’t leave my cows’.”Baan Bu An Nong has been designated a “red zone” — meaning it is high risk for air strikes, artillery barrages and even gun battles between ground troops.But village co-leader Keng Pitonam, 55, is also reluctant to depart. Loading grass onto his three-wheeled cart to feed his livestock, he is now responsible for dozens of neighbours’ animals as well as their homes.”I have to stay — it’s my duty,” Keng told AFP.”I’m not afraid. I can’t abandon my responsibilities,” he said.”If someone like me — a leader — leaves the village, what would that say? I have to be here to serve the community, no matter what happens.”His local temple has become a makeshift donation and rescue hub, parked with ambulances inside its perimeter.”I have to stay — to be a spiritual anchor for those who remain,” said the abbot, declining to give his name. “Whatever happens, happens.”Huddled in a bunker just 10 kilometres from the border, Sutian Phiewchan spoke to AFP by phone, pausing as his words were interrupted by the crackle of gunfire.He remained behind to fulfil his obligations as a volunteer for the local civil defence force, activated to protect the roughly 40 people still staying there.”Everyone here is afraid and losing sleep,” the 49-year-old said.”We’re doing this without pay. But it’s about protecting the lives and property of the people in our village.”burs-jts/dhw

England captain Ben Stokes made a much-needed breakthrough for his side on Sunday’s final day of the fourth Test against India by dismissing KL Rahul despite appearing to be less than fully fit.The match had already been a personal triumph for the all-rounder after he became just the fourth England cricketer to score a hundred and take five wickets in the same Test.Stokes made 141 — his first Test century in more than two years — in England’s mammoth 669 following a return of 5-72 in India’s first-innings 358.This match has also seen Stokes become just the third cricketer in Test history to score 7,000 runs and take 200 wickets after West Indies Garry Sobers and South Africa’s Jacques Kallis.But Stokes, who suffered from cramp while batting, did not bowl at all during the 63 overs India faced their second innings on Saturday’s fourth day as they recovered from 0-2 to 174-2 at stumps, still a deficit of 137 runs.Rahul was 87 not out at Saturday’s close, with skipper Shubman Gill 78 not out.  Stokes was also seen repeatedly clutching the top of his leg, having had surgery on his left hamstring at the start of this year. But with England pressing for a win that would give them an unassailable 3-1 lead in this five-match series ahead of next week’s finale at the Oval, Stokes brought himself on to bowl at the start of Sunday’s play.Already the leading bowler on either side this series with 16 wickets at 24.75, Stokes almost had Gill caught for 81 by a leaping Ollie Pope at short cover.But the inspirational captain did separate India’s stubborn second-wicket duo when he had Rahul, in sight of his third century of the series, plumb lbw for 90 with a nip-back ball that kept a touch low.Rahul had batted for over five hours, facing 230 balls, but India were now 188-3.Fast-medium bowler Stokes, still grabbing the top of his left leg on occasion as well as his right shoulder, then somehow defied a docile surface when a rising delivery popped off a good length to rap Gill, then on 90, on the thumb before deflecting into the side of the batsman’s helmet.Gill, who has already scored three hundreds in his first series as India captain, needed several minutes’ on-field treatment before resuming his innings.Stokes bowled an unchanged spell of 1-12 in eight overs until the advent of the new ball. Chris Woakes, who had reduced India to 0-2 in the first over of the innings, then came back on with India 198-3 off 80 overs.

Former India captain Kapil Dev on Saturday said it is too early to judge new Test skipper Shubman Gill and his young team in England despite two defeats.Gill, 25, took over a team in transition after the retirements of stalwarts Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli ahead of the five-Test tour of England.The visitors, who trail the series 2-1, lost the opener before they bounced back to level the series. They then went down in a closely-fought third Test at Lord’s.Ben Stokes’ England are in the box seat in the fourth Test and in sight of clinching the series.”The team came close to winning (at Lord’s) and then lost,” said Dev, who is the president of Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI), on the sidelines of the announcement of the second half of the national golf calender.”It’s a new team and it is getting an opportunity. In the coming days, these boys will come back with tournament victories. “Any new team needs time to adjust. The new captain has to learn a lot and this series will be a learning step (for him).”Gill, a top-order batter, leads the series batting with over 600 runs including three centuries and a career-best of 269 in the second Test in Birmingham.Pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah has been India’s best bowler with 14 wickets in five innings despite the collective decision that he play just three Tests to manage his workload.Bumrah, a yorker specialist who bowls with an unusual slingshot action has more than 200 Test wickets in his injury-prone career of 48 Tests.But Dev, who never missed a Test due to injury in his 16-year-old career that ended in 1994 with 434 wickets, defended Bumrah’s decision to skip matches.”I think everybody is different,” the 1983 World Cup-winning captain told reporters.”Times have changed, bodies are different and they are working differently. “He is one of the finest bowlers we have. His action is so awkward, and to sustain it this far, I think it’s fabulous. “We never thought that someone would play so long (with this action) because he puts so much stress on his body. He is still delivering for the Indian team, hats off to him.”Dev said Indian golf is ready to take a leaf out of cricket’s set up in India and expand with the PGTI securing new sponsors and increased prize money for tournaments.

Ben Stokes ended his more than two-year wait for a Test hundred as England pressed for a series-clinching win against India at Old Trafford on Saturday.The England captain started the fourth day of the fourth Test on his overnight score of 77 not out.He went to his century with a leg-glanced four off fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah — his ninth boundary in 164 balls faced.It was all-rounder Stokes’ first Test hundred in over two years following a whirlwind 155 against Australia at Lord’s in June 2023.The 34-year-old celebrated his 14th century in 115 Tests by clenching his fist, looking to the sky and making a crooked finger gesture in honour of his late father Ged Stokes before raising his bat to a cheering crowd.England, already 2-1 up in this five-match series, were now 593-8 — a commanding first-innings lead of 235 runs.His hundred capped a brilliant display with both bat and ball by Stokes, England’s leading bowler this series, after the lively fast-medium bowler had taken 5-72 in India’s first-innings 358.Stokes is just the fourth England player to take five wickets and score a hundred in the same Test after Tony Greig, Ian Botham and the currently sidelined Gus Atkinson.With the pressure of getting to a hundred no longer an issue, Stokes then straight drove Washington Sundar for six — although his expression at the crease suggested he thought he had mishit the delivery — and next ball he reverse swept the off-spinner for four.England resumed in the commanding position of 544-7, already a lead of 186, after Joe Root had become the second-highest run-scorer in Test history during his majestic 150 on Friday.Stokes who had briefly retired with cramp before returning on Friday after completing his first fifty this series, was in excellent touch early Saturday.The left-handed batsman twice cover-drove Mohammed Siraj for superb fours as he went to 88.But at the other end Liam Dawson, playing his first Test since 2017 after replacing the injured Shoaib Bashir, had added just five runs to his overnight 21 when he was bowled by a Bumrah delivery that kept a touch low — a worrying sign for India’s batsmen.Stokes charged down the pitch to drive Bumrah for three to go to 99 and then spent several deliveries one run short of three figures, with the world’s top-ranked Test bowler beating the England skipper on the outside edge.

A bus crash in central Vietnam killed 10 people early Friday, the government said, a week after dozens were killed in a boat accident in the tourist site of Ha Long Bay.The overnight sleeper bus was travelling on a national highway from Hanoi to the central city of Da Nang when it veered off the road, hit the roadside markers and overturned, the government said in a statement.The crash killed 10 people, including two children — all of them Vietnamese. Another 12 people were injured and taken to hospital, the statement said.Five of those killed were domestic tourists travelling to Da Nang for holidays, state media said.”The bus overturned… I couldn’t sit up as my body and my hands were smashed into the side of the bed,” a passenger told the Dan Tri news site.Several of those killed and seriously injured had been occupying the bunks towards the front of the bus and “suffered from the strong impact”, the passenger said.Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh called for an investigation into the accident.The crash comes a week after a boat capsized in the UNESCO-recognised Ha Long Bay, killing 38 Vietnamese tourists and crew members.Rescuers are still searching for one missing victim. Only 10 passengers survived the country’s worst boat accident in the popular tourist destination.

Special prayers were held across Bangladesh on Friday, as the death toll from a fighter jet crash into a school building in Dhaka rose to 32.Most of the dead were children — the youngest aged nine — after the Chinese-made F-7 BJI aircraft slammed into the Milestone School and College on Monday following a mechanical failure. The authorities earlier said 31 people were killed and 170 injured in the deadliest aviation disaster in the country in decades.The latest to succumb to her injuries was 10-year-old Tasnim Afroz Ayman, hospital coordinator Sarkar Farhana Kabir told AFP.”She was undergoing treatment in the High Dependency Unit with 45 percent burns,” she said.Ayman’s uncle, Saiful Islam, said she remained calm and composed despite undergoing excruciating pain during her final hours.”Even last night, she consoled her mother. But God had other plans,” Saiful told AFP.As of Friday, 51 others were receiving treatment in various city hospitals. Following a government directive, all mosques across the country held special prayers during the Friday congregation.Ashraful Islam, who came to pray at a mosque close to the school, lost both his children — Tahia Ashraf Nazia, 13, and Arian Ashraf Nafi, 9.”I have nothing left,” Ashraful told reporters.Nazia kept asking about her younger brother Nafi until her last breath, he added.Her final request was for an ice cream, said her aunt Naznin Akhter.”I’m burning inside. Give me some ice cream… and don’t let go of my hand,” were her last words, she told a local TV channel.India and Singapore have sent doctors specialising in burn care to assist their Bangladesh colleagues.A military investigation has been opened to determine the cause of the accident.

Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett got England off to a flying start in their first innings of the fourth Test on Thursday, before India ensured both openers fell agonisingly short of centuries.England were 225-2 at stumps on the second day at Old Trafford, a deficit of 133 runs, after they dismissed India for 358, with captain Ben Stokes taking five wickets and an injured Rishabh Pant making a gutsy fifty for the tourists.The hosts are 2-1 up in this five-match series, and a win in Manchester would see England take an unassailable lead ahead of next week’s finale at the Oval.Crawley (84) and Duckett (94) shared an opening stand of 166  — just the duo’s fifth century partnership in 53 Test innings together.”We were happy to get India 358 all out,” Crawley told Sky Sports. “We are happy with the state of the game right now. Batting last could be tricky.”Crawley, reflecting on his partnership with Duckett, added: “I just try to stay with him and hit a few nice drives! He’s the leader of that partnership and a phenomenal player.”The inconsistent Crawley, who 2005 Ashes-winning captain Michael Vaughan has said is “lucky” to have won so many England caps, played some trademark stylish shots but also survived a confident lbw appeal on 26 after offering no stroke to Mohammed Siraj.Crawley, however, fell frustratingly short of what would have been just his sixth century in 58 Tests — and second in Manchester following a majestic 189 against Australia two years ago — when he nicked left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja low to KL Rahul at slip.  It was the end of a sparkling 113-ball stint featuring 13 fours and a superb straight six off Jadeja, with Crawley’s innings a reminder of why England think he will do well on the firm pitches they are likely to encounter in Australia when they bid to regain the Ashes in a 2025/26 tour.”There is a bit more pace and carry here (Old Trafford) which suits my game,” said Crawley.Duckett was no slouch either, taking three fours off debutant Anshul Kamboj’s first over in Test cricket.Kamboj was only included after fellow paceman Nitish Kumar Reddy was ruled out due to a knee injury suffered during England’s dramatic 22-run win at Lord’s last week.But Duckett also flicked Jasprit Bumrah, the world’s top-ranked Test bowler, off his pads for two fours in three balls.The left-hander was eyeing his second hundred of the series, following a brilliant 149 in England’s win in the first Test at Headingley, when he edged an intended cut off Kamboj to reserve wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel, deputising for the injured Pant.As Kamboj celebrated his maiden Test wicket, a crestfallen Duckett trudged off having faced exactly 100 balls, including 13 fours, with England 197-2.- Battling Pant -Pant returned to action earlier Thursday after a severe foot injury.The vice-captain had to retire hurt on 37 during Wednesday’s opening day when struck a painful blow attempting an audacious reverse-sweep off a Chris Woakes yorker.After Shardul Thakur fell to Stokes for 41, Pant slowly made his way out into the middle.The left-hander’s movements were restricted but runners are no longer allowed in international cricket.However, there was nothing Pant could do as Stokes cleaned up the tail at the other end. When Kamboj was caught behind off the England skipper for a duck it meant Stokes had his first five-wicket haul in a Test since a career-best 6-22 against the West Indies at Lord’s in 2017.The all-rounder finished with 5-72 in 24 overs, a fine return after his future as a lively medium-pacer was threatened by repeated hamstring trouble.Pant reached his half-century in 69 balls, including a pulled six off Jofra Archer despite his lack of mobility, before he was bowled by the express quick for 54.Stokes went against history by sending India into bat on Wednesday. No team winning the toss and bowling first has ever won a Test at Old Trafford.But India need to make history of their own if they are to maintain hopes of a series victory as they have never won a Test at Old Trafford.

Nearly two decades lost, a family fractured and a city still without closure — the scars of the 2006 Mumbai train bombings remain, even as the men once blamed for the deadly attacks walk free.After 19 years behind bars, Mohammad Sajid Margub Ansari can finally hold his daughter in his arms.Ansari, now 48, was one of 12 men convicted in 2015 for murder, conspiracy and waging war against India over the 2006 train blasts.The evening rush-hour attacks, carried out with pressure-cooker bombs hidden in bags beneath newspapers and umbrellas, killed 187 people and wounded hundreds more.Five of the accused were sentenced to death, while the other seven — including Ansari — were given life imprisonment.At the time of the blasts, Ansari was just 29, running a modest mobile and computer repair shop. He was arrested soon after the explosions, reportedly accused of assembling the bombs and sheltering two Pakistani nationals.But this week, a two-judge bench of the Bombay High Court overturned the convictions, ruling that the prosecution had “utterly failed” to prove the men were responsible.The prosecution appealed to the Supreme Court to halt their release, but it declined to intervene.”It feels amazing to be free,” Ansari told AFP. “We are innocent.”- ‘Youth gone’ -Freedom, however, feels bittersweet for Ansari.”My whole youth is gone. My family had to face financial troubles,” he said. His wife was pregnant when Ansari was arrested, leaving him to miss his daughter’s entire childhood. In her early years, she wouldn’t even come near him.”As a dad that felt terrible, that I could not hold my own daughter,” he said.”I used to feel very helpless and think why do we have to go through all this when I am innocent.” The 2006 attacks were initially blamed on the Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba, although a little-known outfit, Lashkar-e-Qahhar, later claimed responsibility. Pakistan denied the allegations.For survivor Chirag Chauhan, who was paralysed from the waist down in one of the blasts, the acquittal of the men felt like being dragged “back to square one”.”We don’t know what to do and where to start from. The entire system is hopeless,” he told AFP.- ‘Back to square one’ -In 2006, Chauhan, now 40, was returning home from chartered accountancy training when the train he boarded was hit by an explosion.Prosecutors said the explosives were deliberately placed in first-class coaches to target the city’s wealthy Gujarati community. They also said the bombings were intended as revenge for riots in the western state of Gujarat in 2002, which left around 2,000 people dead, most of them Muslims. A spinal cord injury left Chauhan requiring the use of a wheelchair.”After 19 years if the accused are let free, who carried out the blasts then?” he asked.But he also said there should be a “fair investigation”, noting that the now freed men could have been framed.”All are equally to be blamed, the judiciary, the investigative agencies, everyone,” he said.For Ansari, his years behind bars demand more than an acquittal.”The agencies should be ashamed of what they did and should definitely apologise to us,” he said. While his old mobile and computer repair shop is no longer an employment option, given the advances in technology since he was imprisoned, Ansari is aiming to rebuild his life.He plans to finish the undergraduate law degree which he enrolled in while in prison. “I hope to put it to good use,” he said.