Mohammed Siraj was menacing during his first spell, grabbing two wickets with perfectly pitched outswingers before Prasidh Krishna sent back in-form Steve Smith as India reduced Australia to 101 for 5 at lunch on the second day of the fifth Test here on Saturday. Smith (33) was involved in a nice little 57-run stand for the fifth wicket with Beau Webster after Siraj had rocked the top-order with two wickets in four balls to reduce the hosts to 39 for 4. Prasidh (1/21 in 6 overs) was proving to be a weak link, bowling multiple release deliveries in his first spell as he couldn’t find the correct length but Bumrah changed his ends and it proved to be a masterstroke. He bowled the perfect length to square up Smith and KL Rahul took the leading edge in the second slip. Smith’s dismissal made it an excellent session for India, while Webster (28 batting) and Ale Carey (4 batting) are at crease when the lunch was taken. The day started with Sam Konstas (23 off 38 balls) giving charge to opposition skipper Bumrah (2/27 in 9 overs) with his reverse lap but Marnus Labuschagne (2) dismissed quickly. Bumrah got one to rear up from a good length and there was just enough away movement to kiss the right-hand batter’s outside edge before resting in Rishabh Pant’s gloves. Bangladeshi umpire Sharfuddoul Ibne Saikat had ruled it not out but TV replays showed a clear spike. Konstas has the unconventional edge to his game, but his defence isn’t the most compact one. Finally, Siraj (2/28 in 10 overs) got his perfectly pitched outswingers landing on that five metre length and Konstas’ drive resulted in an edge towards gully where Yashasvi Jaiswal pouched it without much ado. Travis Head (4) started with a beautiful on-drive but then got one that jagged in (inswinger for left-hander) and as the bat face closed, the leading edge travelled at a good height for Rahul in the slips. At 39 for 4, India could have gone for the kill but Prasidh, known for his profligacy, was far from accurate allowing the hosts to claw their way back. But Prasidh luckily found his mojo just when it mattered the most. (With agency inputs)
04 January,2025 07:50 AM IST | Sydney | mid-day online correspondentShreyas Iyer’s 137 powered Mumbai to a massive 163-run win over Puducherry in their Group C game of the Vijay Hazare Trophy on Friday. Mumbai were in a spot of bother at 82 for five batting first when Iyer played a match-winning knock off 133 balls with 16 fours and four sixes. In reply, Puducherry were shot out for a mere 127 in 27.2 overs with Suryansh Shedge (2-27), Ayush Mhatre (2-7) and Shardul Thakur (3-47) causing the damage with the ball. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
04 January,2025 07:43 AM IST | Vizianagaram | AgenciesRyan Rickelton and Temba Bavuma hit centuries and batted South Africa into a strong position on the first day of the second Test against Pakistan at Newlands on Friday. South Africa were 316 for four at the close of play. Rickelton (176 not out) and South African captain Bavuma (106) put on 235 for the fourth wicket after the pair came together with the total on 72 for three. At that stage, South Africa were in danger of wasting the advantage of winning the toss on a good batting pitch. But Rickelton and Bavuma were seldom troubled. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
04 January,2025 07:43 AM IST | Cape Town | AFPIndia’s Rishabh Pant said he batted with restraint on the opening day against Australia because character of the SCG pitch and the game situation did not allow him to be his customary aggressive self. Pant, who copped severe criticism from all corners for his callous approach to batting during the previous Test at Melbourne, made a 98-ball 40 in India’s 185 all out here on Friday. “I think in this innings, I was not in a frame of mind where I wanted to take charge of the game because the wicket was doing too much and the kind of situation we were in,” Pant said. “I would say there might be a 50-50 chance which I could have taken early on in this innings, but sometimes you have to play more secure cricket especially the way, wicket was behaving,” he added. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
04 January,2025 07:41 AM IST | Sydney | PTIIn the last few years, Test match batting in Australia has become a difficult proposition. A slant towards livelier surfaces and a rejigged constitution of the Kookaburra ball have precluded the possibility of tall scores and forced batters to dig deep, relying on their technical expertise and their temperamental acumen to plod through demanding phases. Juicy strip India were put through an examination by fire on a juicy strip at the Sydney Cricket Ground on the opening day of the final Test, a test they didn’t fare too well in with Scott Boland and Australian skipper Pat Cummins their principal tormentors. Despite out-of-form skipper Rohit Sharma deciding to drop himself, India’s batting fortunes didn’t exactly take off and the visitors were bowled out for 185 after stand-in captain Jasprit Bumrah opted to bat. During a 17-ball cameo which fetched him 22 runs, Bumrah had had a close look at the conditions, and he produced an excellent last ball of the day to have Usman Khawaja caught at second slip by KL Rahul, sending Australia to stumps at nine for one. Already, he has had a running battle with the feisty Sam Konstsas, who charged the first ball of the Australian reply which he whipped through mid-wicket for four. A spicy contest looms on Saturday’s Day Two. Spice was quite the flavour of the day with India’s batters feeling the heat. In itself, batting was anything but straightforward. It was the kind of track where, no matter how much time one spent, it was impossible to feel ‘in’. Against that backdrop, several soft dismissals didn’t help though for the second innings in a row, Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja put their heads down after Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli threw their hands away after doing all the hard work. The litany of tame dismissals began in the day’s fifth over when Rahul flicked a harmless Mitchell Starc delivery straight to the fielder at forward square-leg. Starc was driven more than once in his first spell when he pitched the ball up in looking for swing, but Cummins gave nothing away and the wonderful Boland kept India honest by falling into a great rhythm, hitting a spot consistently and offering the batters no width to free their arms. Crucial fifth-wicket stand Yashasvi Jaiswal’s endeavour to disturb Boland’s rhythm resulted in a catch to slip, a charging Gill inexplicably poked Nathan Lyon off the last ball before lunch to slip and Kohli, reprieved by the TV umpire on nought, perished to a loose stroke outside off in a series where that mode of dismissal has been commonplace for the former captain. India were tottering at 72-4 and their luck held somewhat when Jadeja was put down twice by the time he had reached five. Alongside a courageous Pant, who weathered numerous blows to his body and one crunching hit to his helmet from Starc, he added 48 for the fifth wicket when Boland dismissed Pant and Nitish Kumar Reddy off successive deliveries. Jadeja’s two-and-a-half-hour vigil was ended by Starc while Washington Sundar was contentiously ruled caught behind by the TV umpire Joel Wilson, who overruled the on-field umpire even in the absence of conclusive evidence. It was left to Bumrah, chancing his arm and smiting Cummins for a huge six over mid-wicket, to push the score to the early limits of acceptability, though it is with the ball that India will expect their skipper to do the damage on the morrow.
04 January,2025 07:41 AM IST | Sydney | R KaushikAustralian batting great Ricky Ponting on Friday said he was “surprised” by the Indian camp’s wording around Rohit Sharma’s absence from the fifth and final Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy but admitted that the move was on expected lines. Given the circumstances, Ponting was totally in agreement with the woefully out-of-form Rohit skipping the decider at SCG but the former Australia captain was surprised by the wording of the news that came from the India camp. “I was very surprised when I heard the term ‘opting out’ coming into such an important game,” Ponting said. “We know he’s been a great stalwart for Indian cricket over a long period of time. So the way that they’ve actually worded it, you can only take it on face value. We’ve got to believe what we’re hearing coming out of the Indian camp, but being such a big game, knowing that they have to win this one to retain the trophy, it was an interesting time for one of their more experienced players to opt out.” This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
04 January,2025 07:37 AM IST | Sydney | PTIThe worst kept secret in the cricketing world was finally out in the open on Friday morning when Jasprit Bumrah, and not Rohit Sharma, waited for Pat Cummins at the toss to set the ball rolling in the final Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground. By late Thursday evening local time, it was obvious that Rohit would not play the series decider against Australia, though even 24 hours later, there was no official word on the sequence of events that led to this unprecedented move in Indian cricket. Never before has the Indian captain sat out a Test where he has been available for selection. All stakeholders of the sport in India deserved to know how and by whom this call was made. Was it Rohit who offered to skip this game because he has only made 31 runs in five innings this series? Or was he nudged in that direction by head coach Gautam Gambhir and selector on tour, Ajit Agarkar, also the chairman of the selection panel? If India don’t make the final of the World Test Championship, as looks likely at this stage with Australia needing only one win in three matches to set up a Lord’s clash with South Africa, it’s more than possible that Rohit has played his last Test. If that’s the case, it’s a shame that he didn’t get a better send-off. Admittedly, international sport might not be the stage for emotion or sentiment, but there is a certain sensitivity with which seismic moves need to be handled, and that definitely hasn’t been the case this time around. Rohit has been a wonderful ambassador for Indian cricket and has reshaped the approach and mindset of the team over the last two and a half-plus years since he became the all-format captain. Despite his travails over the last three and a half months, he will go down as one of India’s more influential Test openers since taking over that role late in his career, in October 2019, and a terrific leader with great tactical smarts. “It was an emotional decision because he has been captain for a long time,” Rishabh Pant, India’s top-scorer with 40, said at the end of Friday’s play. “We see him as a leader of the team. There are some decisions that you are not involved in, they are the (team) management’s calls. I was not part of that conversation. I can’t explain more than that.” Rohit spent about half an hour on the outfield with his colleagues in the morning before leaving for the dressing room, and was caught on camera sitting in the viewing area, watching the proceedings poker-faced. One can only imagine what must be going through his mind, irrespective of whose decision it was for him not to play this game.
04 January,2025 07:36 AM IST | Sydney | R KaushikFormer England captain Michael Vaughan and ex-India batter Robin Uthappa slammed the third umpire’s decision to give Washington Sundar out at the SCG on Friday. Sundar was adjudged caught behind off Pat Cummins by third umpire Joel Wilson who spent considerable time analysing replays to determine if Sundar had gloved it. The snickometer showed a spike as the ball passed Sundar’s glove and Wilson overturned the on-field umpire’s decision. Sundar was visibly stunned. “No way is that OUT. That’s an awful decision,” Vaughan wrote on X. “I’m sorry, but that’s a crap decision! Sure, there was a spike, but from the side angle, there was clear space between ball and glove,” wrote Uthappa. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
04 January,2025 07:32 AM IST | Sydney | IANSDebutant all-rounder Beau Webster feels facing ace India pacer Jasprit Bumrah will be an enormous challenge on a SCG pitch that is helping seamers. India were all out for 185 on Day 1 after which Australia lost Usman Khawaja off the last ball of the day to Bumrah to end at nine for one. “There’s definitely a method to go about batting on this wicket, but Jasprit is a world-class bowler and no doubt he’s going to challenge our whole batting group. He’s phenomenal with his lengths and lines, it’s going to be tough on a wicket that will offer a fair bit to him,” Webster said at the post-day press conference. Beau Webster He also felt that the hosts did well to dismiss India under 200. “It was a pretty seamer-friendly track and most of the day the ball stayed pretty new with the grass coverage. It’s not an abrasive square either. The plan was to bowl a bit fuller and entice those front foot defences and front foot drives. Scotty [Boland] was excellent. He’s been unbelievable since he’s back into the team and [you] saw why he’s a world-class bowler. All the bowlers were really good today to bowl them out for 200.” Smith ‘100 per cent’ sure of Kohli catch Australia’s Steve Smith believes Virat Kohli was out off the first ball he faced at the SCG on Friday. When Kohli came to the crease in the eighth over, he edged the very first delivery off pacer Scott Boland to Smith in the slips. Smith however, scooped it up and the ball appeared to have touched the ground before it was caught at gully. Third umpire, Joel Wilson, adjudicated in favour of India, but Smith later told Fox Sports that it was out. When asked if that catch was clean, Smith replied: “100%. No denying it whatsoever, 100%, but the umpire has made the decision. We’ll move on.” Kohli went on to score just 12 off 48 balls. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
04 January,2025 07:31 AM IST | Sydney | PTIFormer Australia captain Ricky Ponting said that it took him by surprise when the Indian dugout termed skipper Rohit Sharma's absence as "opting out." Ponting stated that the move was on expected lines. The Sydney Test match kickstarted with Team India looking to secure a win in order to level the series. However, Jasprit Bumrah walked out for the toss and said Rohit had opted out of the Sydney Test. "I think the reaction has been that they all sort of expected that it might happen," Ricky Ponting told The ICC Review. "The chat's been for the last couple of days that everyone expected that Rohit would not play this game, that Shubman Gill would come back in and that (Jasprit) Bumrah would probably take over the captaincy again and that's the way it's turned out." Keeping in mind, India's situation, Ricky Ponting totally agreed with Rohit's snub decision for the SCG Test. But, the Australian was surprised by the news that came from the Indian camp. "I was very surprised when I heard the term 'opting out' coming into such an important game," Ricky Ponting said. "We know he's been a great stalwart for Indian cricket over a long period of time. So the way that they've actually worded it, you can only take it on face value." "We've got to believe what we're hearing coming out of the Indian camp, but being such a big game, knowing that they have to win this one to retain the trophy, it was an interesting time for one of their more experienced players to opt out." Also Read: Karun Nair sets new List A world record, scores... Rohit Sharma looked like a pale shadow of himself in the ongoing series Down Under, struggling to execute even his bread-and-butter shots including the trademark front-foot pull. During the customary pre-match warm-up session, Rohit was seen playing football with Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant and Sarfaraz Khan, who along with Abhimanyu Easwaran will end the series without getting an international game. Ricky Ponting was not very clear with the words, but very well understands that it could be the end of Rohit Sharma's career in Test cricket. "You'd think it's probably a long way back for Rohit Sharma now in this format of the game," Ponting said. "India don't play a Test match, I believe, until the middle or late June, which is a long way away when you're sort of coming to the back end of your career. "I think he's been a terrific player for India so with those sort of guys, you wish them all the best and hope to see them back out there again, but as I said, I think it will be a long - and probably difficult road - back for him." Ponting had no doubt that the attempt made by Steve Smith at second slip off Kohli's blade was a clean take. Kohli edged a length delivery from Scott Boland to second slip, where Smith was positioned. Smith dived low to his right, seemingly catching the ball near the ground before flicking it upward toward gully, where Marnus Labuschagne completed the catch. However, the decision was referred to the TV umpire, who ultimately ruled Kohli not out. "I was in the back of the (commentary) box as it happened and from what I saw, and what I believe to be the interpretation of the rules, that seemed to be out to me," Ricky Ponting said. "The ball may have touched the ground. It may not have touched the ground, but the fact that his right index finger was still underneath the ball, I thought it was a clear catch." The incident took place in the eighth over, off the first ball Kohli faced and Ponting admitted the limited angles available did not help. "It might be one of those ones that depends which dressing room he's (Kohli) sitting in as well. "Every Indian fan and Indian player will say that's not out as it clearly touched the ground, but you could tell by the reaction of the Australians when it happened and even when they saw the replay on the big screen that they were all pretty confident that it was out." "I'm sure over the course of this Test match we'll talk about it a whole lot more," Ricky Ponting said. (With PTI Inputs)
03 January,2025 07:54 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondentThe ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy has been nothing short of entertainment and rage moments. Australian players known for their dominating and "bad boy" attitude have raised eyebrows of the Indian crowd on many occasions. The cricket world is well aware of the Australians and their illegal tactics to win the game. Similar scenes have been part of the ongoing Test series against Team India. During the first Test match, when KL Rahul opened the innings for the visitors in Rohit Sharma's absence was given a controversial out. Initially, Rahul was given not out by the on-field umpire, but later the decision favored the Aussies when they appealed for caught-behind dismissal. The Indian batsman was seen leaving the field unhappy. When the decision was being reviewed, there was no connection seen between the bat and the ball, but there was a spike in the Snicko during the video. Did Snicko pick the sound of the bat hitting KL Rahul's pad or was there a fishy thing going on in the Australian team's favour? A similar incident happened during the fourth Test match in Melbourne, but this time it was with Yashasvi Jaiswal. Also Read: IND vs AUS 5th Test: Fierce Scott Boland completes... The youngster filled with talent and grit was well-settled in the middle when the team needed it the most. With no Indian batsmen able to nail their feet at the crease, the left-hander, single-handedly was bashing the Australian bowlers for boundaries. Jaiswal looking strong on unbeaten 84 runs, misjudged a Pat Cummins' delivery. The ball was carried to the wicketkeeper's hand. The on-field umpire initially did not give him out, but later the match official changed his decision following the third umpire. This time the Snicko had no movement, but still the decision ended in the favor of the hosts. Following the dismissal, Team India legendary batsman, Sunil Gavaskar shared his opinion in which he stated that if the technology is available, then the dismissal decision should have been processed with the help of it. In the ongoing fifth and final Test match in Sydney, Washington Sundar found himself the victim of the technology. Facing 29 balls, Sundar was steady on 14 runs and that was when he approached the ball in a similar manner to Jaiswal's dismissal in the fourth Test match. Yet again, the spike was visible on Snicko, but there was no contact seen between Sundar's gloves and the ball. One thing common in all these three incidents is the batsman who has been a part of the controversial dismissals was well-settled at the crease. In the fifth match, Virat Kohli nicked a delivery which went into the hands of Steve Smith who was standing in the slips. The Australian team celebrated the wicket of the Indian stalwart as if Smith pulled a blinder in the game, but when the catch went for a review, it was clearly seen that the ball touched the ground. The Australians' celebrations went into vain as Kohli was given not out in Team India's first essay of the fifth Test. Pat Cummins-led Australia are currently leading the five-match Test series 2-1 with the last match being underway. If India manages to win the Sydney game, then the Border-Gavaskar Trophy would end in a tie. If Australia clinches the victory in the final game, then the hosts will regain the title by breaking India's solid string of retaining the BGT title.
03 January,2025 05:56 PM IST | Mumbai | Sujay ShivalkarADVERTISEMENT
