Rajasthan takes lead

   Rajasthan went to the top of Group ‘B' Plate league of the Cooch Behar Trophy, snatching a 144-run first innings lead against Bengal in the drawn encounter at Kalyani on Sunday.

Chasing Rajasthan's massive first innings total of 553 for eight declared, Bengal, overnight 210 for three, was restricted to 409 on the final day. This meant Bengal added only 199 runs for the loss of seven wickets in the drawn game,

Rajasthan will play Bihar and Bengal will take on Tripura in the next set of matches.

Vihari cracks century

At Hyderabad, G.H. Vihari's unbeaten 100 for Hyderabad was the highlight of the final day's play as the match against Andhra ended in a draw at Gymkhana on Sunday.

Andhra picked up three points for taking the first innings lead, while the home team got one point.

The scores: At Kalyani: Rajasthan 553 for eight decl. drew with Bengal 409 in 169 overs (A. Keshri 102, A. Gani 56, Ravikant Singh 69, S. Lohia four for 127). Points: Rajasthan 3; Bengal 1.

At Hyderabad: Hyderabad 319 & 306 for three decl. in 94.2 overs (Rohit Rayudu 58, Ryan Kaundinya 65, G.H. Vihari 100 n.o., Akash Bhanadari 51, Sneha Kishore three for 113) drew with Andhra 340 & 187 for four (M. Pranith 89, B. Siva Charan Singh 55 n.o.). Points: Andhra 3, Hyderabad 1.

India takes Gita issue with Russian Federal authorities

India has strongly taken up the demand for banning Hindu scripture Bhagavad Gita, which a group linked to the Christian Orthodox Church has described as 'extremist', with the Russian authorities, Indian ambassador to Russia Ajai Malhotra said.

"The matter has been taken up by the

Indian embassy in Moscow with the Russian government at senior official level, seeking its favourable and positive intervention in the matter," Malhotra said, as the court in Tomsk postponed its ruling on the petition banning Bhagawad Gita as 'extremist' and allegedly 'sowing' social-discord in Russia.

Describing Bhagawad Gita as extremist, a group linked to the Christian Orthodox Church has demanded ban due to conflict of interests between the Russian followers of Lord Krishna and the local authorities in the Siberian region of Tomsk.

Malhotra personally and his mission have publicly expressed their support to the local chapter of International Society of Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON).

The final hearing in the Tomsk district court is scheduled for December 28, as the court agreed to seek the opinion of the Russian Ombudsman on Human Rights in Tomsk Region and of Indologists from Moscow and St Petersburg (all of whom favour dismissal of the case).

The case pertains to the legal relationship between a Russian registered socio-cultural organisation and the local authorities.

Nevertheless, the embassy in Moscow has been publicly supportive and sympathetic in the matter.