In the third T20I match against South Africa, Team India emerged victorious by seven wickets at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamshala. During the match, Team India bowlers showcased immense skills and bowled out the Proteas for 117 runs in 20 overs. Speaking on their performance, the hosts' bowling coach, Morne Morkel, expressed happiness. "I am just happy how the boys bounced back," Morkel said in a video posted by 'bcci.tv'. Completing his quota of four overs each, Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana bagged two wickets each by conceding 13 and 34 runs, respectively. Reflecting on his performance, Arshdeep joked around, remembering his spell in the previous game when the camera had turned to Morkel after the pacer's poor bowling display. "In the last match, when I was bowling wides, the camera was panning to the coach (Morkel) very often as if he had given some faulty plan to me. I would like to say sorry to Morne and will also try to ensure that he gets less screen time," said the 26-year-old pacer. "Whether good or bad, I always try to be a level-headed person who makes reels and keeps the dressing room atmosphere light. That's my main motivation," added Arshdeep. On the other hand, Harshit said that he enjoys bowling with the Guna-born cricketer as he creates pressure from the other end. "I like bowling with him (Arshdeep), he creates pressure from the other end. It is helpful for my bowling. It's my first time in Dharamsala, I enjoyed bowling here. The weather helps a lot," he said. Batting first, South Africa lost the wickets of their openers, Quinton de Kock and Reeza Hendricks, early in the match. Later, skipper Aiden Markram played a blistering knock of 61 runs off 46 deliveries. His knock was laced with six boundaries and two maximums. India's Varun Chakaravarthy and Kuldeep Yadav also scalped two wickets each while Hardik Pandya and Shivam Dube took one wicket each. The fourth T20I match between Team India and South Africa is scheduled to be played on Wednesday at the Ekana Cricket Stadium B Ground in Lucknow. (With PTI Inputs)
15 December,2025 04:57 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondentEngland's Vice-Captain Harry Brook had admitted that the ongoing Ashes Test series against Australia has not gone well for him, and he needs to absorb the pressure for the upcoming clash in Adelaide. "It hasn't been an ideal series. Sometimes, I've got to rein it in a little bit: learn when to absorb the pressure a little bit more, and realise when the opportunity arises to put the pressure back on them. I feel like I haven't done that as well as I usually do. I just haven't identified those situations well enough," Brook said as quoted by ESPNcricinfo. So far, the right-hander registered the scores of 52, 0, 31, and 15 in the first two Test matches against the Aussies. He said that, by far, his execution has not been as good as it was in the initial stages of his career. "Most of the time when I've been overly aggressive is when we've lost early wickets and I've tried to counter-punch and put them back under pressure. I tried to do that in Perth in the first innings: I played quite nicely and gloved down the leg side. I try to read situations as well as possible, and then it all depends on my execution. And so far [in this series], my execution hasn't been as good as it has been at the start of my career," said Brook. He also said that the Australian bowling lineup can't be taken lightly and the Englishmen need to create their own chances to score runs. "You can't take this bowling attack lightly: they very rarely miss. You've got to try and create your own bad balls. Doing that might be me running down; it might be me changing my guard or whatever. Look, they don't miss often and you've got to tip your hat to them sometimes. They've bowled really well in this series," said the 26-year-old cricketer. The third Test match between England and Australia is scheduled to be played from Wednesday at the Adelaide Oval. Currently, the "Three Lions" are trailing the series 0-2 against the Aussies. (With ANI Inputs)
15 December,2025 04:57 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondentIn the third T20I match against Team India, South Africa suffered a loss by seven wickets at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamshala. During the first innings of the match, the Proteas were bowled out for 117 runs in 20 overs. Speaking about the match, South African skipper Aiden Markram credited the Indian bowlers for hitting the right areas. "They got the ball in the right areas and before you know it, you're four, five, six down. For sure Arshdeep bowled really well. Both the new ball bowlers bowled really well," he said. "You can have friendly conditions, but ultimately the bowlers still have to land the ball in the right areas and that's exactly what they did," added Markram. He also said that the hosts' bowlers made it difficult for his side's batsmen. "You have to give credit to them for that. From ball number one, they were straight on it and made life really difficult. You have to give a lot of credit to them for that," stated the 31-year-old cricketer. However, the visitors' skipper managed to score 61 runs off just 46 deliveries. His knock was laced with six boundaries and two maximums. Donovan Ferreira also scored 20 runs in 15 balls, including a boundary and a maximum. Anrich Nortje scored 12 runs off 12 balls, with the help of a maximum. Except for these three players, no South African player was able to register a double-digit score. Team India's pacer Harshit Rana, who was picked in the absence of lead pacer Jasprit Bumrah, showcased exceptional skills with the ball. Bowling four overs, he bagged two wickets conceding 34 runs. Along with Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, and Kuldeep Yadav also took two wickets each while Hardik Pandya and Shivam Dube scalped one wicket each. The "Men in Blue" bowled out the Proteas for 117 runs in 20 overs. Following the loss, the Proteas are trailing 1-2 in the five-match T20I series against the "Men in Blue". The fourth T20I match between Team India and South Africa is scheduled to be played at the Ekana Cricket Stadium B Ground in Lucknow on Wednesday. (With PTI Inputs)
15 December,2025 03:55 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondentFormer Team India cricketer Harbhajan Singh expressed delight after meeting legendary Argentine footballer Lionel Messi at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai during the "GOAT India Tour". Messi arrived in Mumbai on Day 2 of his ongoing tour. He was accompanied by Luis Suarez and Rodrigo De Paul. The trio also met Indian football legend Sunil Chhetri and cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar during the event. Singh, along with his family, posed for a picture with the football trio. Sharing a post on his official social media handle, the former Indian spinner wrote, "What a day meeting with one and only G.O.A.T @leomessisite. Thank you Rony Satadaru for making it happen. Great host CCI Mumbai & well done @MumbaiPolice. Great Job done". What a day meeting with one and only G.O.A.T @leomessisite . Thank you Rony Satadaru for making it happen. Great host CCI Mumbai 🙌 & well done @MumbaiPolice 🙏🙌. Great Job done pic.twitter.com/kAZTUBQee9 — Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) December 14, 2025 During the event, the stadium was completely filled with fans and celebrities from different fields. Bollywood celebrities, including Tiger Shroff, Shahid Kapoor. and others, made their appearances at the venue. The moment that stood out the most was when Chhetri greeted Messi. The Argentine footballer also presented the former Indian captain with his national team jersey, bearing his autograph on it. The events in Mumbai and Hyderabad were successful compared to the one in Kolkata. Budding footballers were also seen playing football with the Argentine superstars in Mumbai. A day before his Mumbai visit, fans experienced poor managerial planning in Kolkata. Several of them said that the footballer was present at the venue for less than 20 minutes and that they were unable to get a glimpse of the football star as he was mobbed by politicians and VIPs. The Sree Bhumi Sporting Club at Lake Town in South Dum Dum had also constructed a 70-foot iron statue of the footballer. Messi unveiled the statue virtually on December 13. Later, the event in Hyderabad turned out to be a successful one and Messi was also seen playing football with Chief Minister Revanth Reddy. (With ANI Inputs)
15 December,2025 03:55 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondentIn the third T20I match against South Africa, Team India emerged victorious by seven wickets at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamshala. During the match, the hosts' opening pair, Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill, delivered good starts. Facing just 18 deliveries, Abhishek smashed 35 runs, which was laced with three boundaries and the same number of maximums. On the other hand, Gill garnered 28 runs in 28 balls, with the help of five boundaries. Speaking about Gill's form, Abhishek said that the right-hander will soon start winning the matches for India. "I'll tell you one thing straight away, that trust me, these two guys (Shubman Gill and Suryakumar Yadav) are going to win matches in World Cup (in February-March) and in this series as well," he said. "Because I've been playing with them since so long, especially with Shubman, so I know which match he can win, which conditions, irrespective of the team, whoever it is. So I have a lot of faith in him from the beginning, and I hope everyone will see him very soon and everyone will have faith in him," added the left-handed batsman. Further speaking, the world's number one T20I batsman revealed the plan during the match. He said that the plan was just to go all guns blazing and to finish the match as soon as possible. "There was a bit of help for the fast bowlers, and as I was batting, I knew that if I gave a good start here, the match could get over in the Powerplay, and that's what happened. That was the plan for the rest of the batters, that they would just knock out or finish the match, so it was a very simple plan after that," said the 25-year-old cricketer. Abhishek said he had to keep in mind that in cold December evenings in this part of the country, the pacers would get movement both in the air and off the surface. "Conditions of course, I mean, as a batter you have to keep those things in mind that the ball is swinging a bit or it's seaming a bit, so I tried to play a few shots which is suitable for those wickets and pitches, so that's the plan always." (With PTI Inputs)
15 December,2025 12:04 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondentIgnored by national selectors in T20 set-up, Yashasvi Jaiswal sent another reminder to the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee with a blistering 48-ball century as defending champions Mumbai crushed Haryana by four wickets in a high-scoring Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy Super League match here Sunday. Having tamely surrendered to Hyderabad in the opening Super League game which severely impacted their Net Run Rate, Jaiswal (101 off 50 balls) and Sarfaraz Khan (64 off 24 balls) came out all guns blazing while chasing down a stiff target of 235. With this win in 17.3 overs, Mumbai kept their chances of qualifying for the summit clash alive. Jaiswal and Sarfaraz added 88 runs in just 6.1 overs to make a difficult chase look like a walk in the park. During the post-match presentation ceremony, Jaiswal requested his teammate Sarfaraz to join him while collecting the Player of The Match cheque of Rs 50,000.When Haryana skipper Ankit Kumar (89 off 42 balls) and talented all-rounder Nishant Sindhu (63 no off 38 balls) added 110 runs in only 8.1 overs, little did they expect the carnage that was to follow. Veteran Ajinkya Rahane (21 off 10 balls) started in earnest with Jaiswal also giving new-ball bowler Anshul Kamboj (1-63) and left-armer Ishant Bhardwaj (1-56) the charge, hitting both of them for sixes and boundaries galore. The problem with all Haryana quicks was their pace hovered around 125 to 130 kmph range which was exactly what the doctored ordered for Mumbai on a placid track. Their half-volleys were driven, short balls sat up nicely for Jaiswal to play the pull shots and ramp shots over third man. In all Jaiswal hit 16 fours, five off Kamboj alone, and a six. When Sarfaraz gave the charge and completed his 50 off 16 balls, Jaiswal quite rightly played the second fiddle, but once the burly man was gone, the left-hander took over to finish the game in a jiffy. 17.3Overs taken by Mumbai to chase down a stiff target of 235 Brief scoresHaryana 234-3 in 20 overs (A Kumar 89, N Sindhu 63*, S Jakhar 31; S Patil 2-44) lost to Mumbai 238-6 in 17.3 overs (Y Jaiswal 101, S Khan 64, S Jakhar 2-42) by four wickets 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
15 December,2025 10:08 AM IST | Ambi (Pune) | PTIDefiant England coach Brendon McCullum brushed off concerns on Sunday that his job was on the line heading into the third Test against Australia, while admitting the team have been “nowhere near” their best. The tourists were crushed in the first two Ashes Tests in Perth and Brisbane by eight wickets, and only a win at Adelaide Oval this week will be enough to keep the five-match series alive. McCullum confirmed they would stick with the same top seven, keeping under-fire Ollie Pope at No. 3 rather than bring in Jacob Bethell. “Knee-jerk reactions and chopping and changing settled batting line-ups are not really our way,” he said. “We know we haven’t got enough runs so far in the series. But for us to go on and win the series, it’s not about throwing out what’s been successful for us over the past few years.” England’s lack of fight and questionable preparations have drawn scrutiny, while McCullum’s claim that they “trained too much” prior to Brisbane was met with disbelief by former greats. 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
15 December,2025 10:06 AM IST | Adelaide | AFPIndia’s pacers produced a mesmerising spell of swing bowling as the hosts thrashed South Africa by seven wickets with 25 balls to spare in the third T20I to take a 2-1 lead in the five-match series here on Sunday. Solid opening stand India chased the modest 118-run target in just 15.5 overs, thanks to a 60-run stand for the opening wicket between Shubman Gill (28 off 28 balls) and Abhishek Sharma (18 off 35 balls). Tilak Varma contributed 25 not out off 34 balls. Pacers Marco Jansen (1-24), Lungi Ngidi (1-23) and Corbin Bosch (1-18) claimed one wicket each for the visitors. Opener Abhishek Sharma during his 18-ball 35 on Sunday Earlier, India bundled out the Proteas for a below-par 117. Leading India’s show with early wickets were Arshdeep Singh (2-13), Harshit Rana (2-34) and Hardik Pandya (1-23) after the hosts chose to bowl. Skipper Aiden Markram offered the lone spark for South Africa with a spirited 46-ball 61. Arshdeep, who had a horror outing at Mullanpur a couple of days back, redeemed himself with a dream first spell (3-0-9-1). South Africa suddenly found themselves at 7-3 in 3.1 overs, and it was always going to be an uphill climb for them from there. Markram crunched a couple of sweet drives in between to keep the board moving, but Tristan Stubbs and Corbin Bosch departed in quick succession to further derail South African innings. Bumrah returns home Jasprit Bumrah did not play this match after returning home to attend to a personal situation. The BCCI said his availability for the remainder of the series will be announced in due course. Spinner Varun Chakravarthy (2-11 in four overs) too reached a milestone, capturing his 50th T20I wicket while flattening the stumps of Donovan Ferreira (20). OneHardik is the only pacer to claim 100 T20I wickets and score 1000-plus runs 117Lowest total South Africa have been bowled out for in T20Is against India when batting first Brief scoresSA 117 all out in 20 overs (A Markram 61; V Chakravarthy 2-11, K Yadav 2-12, A Singh 2-13, H Rana 2-34) lost to India 120-3 in 15.5 overs (A Sharma 35) by seven wickets 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
15 December,2025 10:04 AM IST | Dharamsala | AgenciesA disciplined bowling performance, led by all-rounder Kanishk Chouhan and seamer Deepesh Devendran, powered India to a comprehensive 90-run victory over Pakistan in their Group A match of the U-19 Asia Cup here on Sunday. Batting first, India posted a competitive 240 all out in 46.1 overs, riding on a fluent 85 from Aaron George and useful contributions from captain Ayush Mhatre (38) and Chouhan (46). Pakistan were then bundled out for 150 in 41.2 overs. Earlier, India got off to a brisk start with skipper Mhatre striking four boundaries and three sixes during his 25-ball knock before Mohammad Sayyam removed both openers inside the first 10 overs. Chouhan’s late flourish, which included three sixes, helped India cross the 230-run mark. For Pakistan, Sayyam (3-67) and Abdul Subhan (3-42) were the standout bowlers, while Niqab Shafiq chipped in with two wickets. Pakistan’s chase faltered early as they slipped to 30-4, with Devendran striking thrice. Ahsan top-scored for Pakistan with 70 off 83 balls. Chouhan finished with 3-33, while Devendran returned figures of 3-16 as India maintained a firm grip on the contest throughout to register a dominant win in the marquee Group A clash. Meanwhile, the players of the two teams did not shake hands with each other at the toss and after the match, continuing the ‘no-handshake’ protocol. 2.28Pacer Deepesh Devendran’s economy rate against Pakistan. He was the pick of the Indian bowlers, claiming 3-16 off just seven overs Brief scoresIndia 240 all out in 46.1 overs (A George 85, K Chouhan 46, A Mhatre 38; A Subhan 3-42, M Sayyam 3-67, N Shafiq 2-38) beat Pakistan 150 all out in 41.2 overs (H Ahsan 70; D Devendran 3-16, K Chouhan 3-33, K Singh 2-33) by 90 runs 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
15 December,2025 09:48 AM IST | Dubai | PTIIn the third T20I match against South Africa, Team India emerged victorious by seven wickets at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamshala. Having put to chase a target of 118 runs, Team India posted 120 runs for the loss of three wickets in 15.5 overs. With this, the "Men in Blue" have taken a lead by 2-1 against the Proteas in the five-match T20I series. Abhishek Sharma smashed 35 runs off just 18 deliveries, which was laced with three boundaries and the same number of maximums. Fellow opening batsman, Shubman Gill, scored 28 runs in 28 balls, with the help of five boundaries. Skipper Suryakumar Yadav accumulated 12 runs off 11 balls, including two boundaries. Tilak Varma and Shivam Dube stayed unbeaten on the scores of 26 and 10 runs, respectively. Facing 34 balls, Varma smashed three boundaries, whereas Dube faced just four balls and smashed a boundary and a maximum. Lungi Ngidi, Marco Jansen, and Corbin Bosch claimed one wicket each for South Africa. Bowling three overs each, Ngidi conceded 23 runs, and Jansen was smashed for 24 runs. Bosch, too, in his spell of three overs, was smashed for 18 runs. Ottniel Baartman and Anrich Nortje went wicketless in the third T20I match against Team India. Bowling 3.5 overs, Baartman leaked 34 runs, and Nortje was smashed for 14 runs in three overs. Batting first, South Africa lost the wickets of their openers, Quinton de Kock and Reeza Hendricks, early in the match. Skipper Aiden Markram played a blistering knock of 61 runs off 46 deliveries. His knock was laced with six boundaries and two maximums. Team India's pacer Harshit Rana, who was picked in the absence of lead pacer Jasprit Bumrah, showcased exceptional skills with the ball. Bowling four overs, he bagged two wickets by conceding 34 runs. Along with Harshit, Arshdeep Singh (2), Hardik Pandya (1), Varun Chakaravarthy (2), Kuldeep Yadav (2), and Shivam Dube (1) also chipped in with the wickets. The "Men in Blue" bowled out the Proteas for 117 runs in 20 overs. The fourth T20I match between Team India and South Africa is scheduled to be played at the Ekana Cricket Stadium B Ground in Lucknow on December 17.
14 December,2025 10:47 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondentIn the third T20I match against South Africa, Team India skipper Suryakumar Yadav won the toss and elected to bowl first at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamshala. After winning the toss, the hosts' skipper Suryakumar stated that bowling first would be a good decision. The side has also made two changes, where Axar Patel and Jasprit Bumrah have made way for Harshit Rana and Kuldeep Yadav. Meanwhile, Varun Chakaravarthy is just one wicket shy of completing 50 scalps in the format, whereas Hardik Pandya needs to dismiss one batsman to complete 100 wickets for the "Men in Blue" in the shortest format of the game. If Pandya manages to claim that one wicket, he will then become the third Indian player to achieve the feat. "We'll bowl first, the wicket looks good, and there's a bit of dew. It might become heavier later, so we think bowling first is the best approach. We're happy to be here, the crowd is fantastic, and we want to entertain them. Every game is important, and we need to be switched on for all three hours. We're making two forced changes, with Harshit Rana and Kuldeep Yadav coming in for Axar Patel and Jasprit Bumrah," said the Indian Captain. On the other hand, Aiden Markram, the South African captain, said, "It's nice to be here, and it's a bit chilly, quite different from Joburg. We're looking forward to a great evening of cricket. We weren't up to the mark in the first game, so it's great to see the response from the team. We need to back it up again tonight and play consistently. We're making three changes today and are excited to see how the team performs". Tristan Stubbs, Corbin Bosch, and Anrich Nortje have come in place of David Miller, George Linde, and Lutho Sipamla. IND vs SA 3rd T20I: Confirmed Playing XI India: Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (C), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy. South Africa: Quinton de Kock, Reeza Hendricks, Aiden Markram (C), Dewald Brevis, Tristan Stubbs, Donovan Ferreira, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Anrich Nortje, Lungi Ngidi, Ottneil Baartman.
14 December,2025 07:10 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondentADVERTISEMENT
