Internationalcricketupdates

India batting stalwart Virat Kohli is set to become only the third Indian to achieve an exceptional feat. If Kohli plays and bats in the third Test against New Zealand at the Wankhede Stadium, he will follow in the footsteps of Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid and become only the third-ever Indian cricketer to bat 600 innings across all formats of international cricket. Kohli is currently on 599 innings, having played 199 in Tests, 283 in ODIs and 117 in T20Is for India. Sachin Tendulkar tops not only the list of Indian cricketers with the most innings played but also the list among any cricketer ever, having batted 782 innings. Mahela Jayawardene (725) and Ricky Ponting (668) round out the top three. Kohli will become the seventh batter in the history of cricket to notch up 600 innings. Kohli has endured a rough patch in Test cricket in 2024. In five Tests in the calendar year, Kohli has managed only 245 runs at an average of 27.22, with only one fifty.  Following the new...

Indian captain Rohit Sharma on Thursday backed the retention of national team players in the Mumbai Indians squad for IPL 2025 while franchise skipper Hardik Pandya summed it up as "five fingers but one fist". Mumbai Indians chose to retain five Indian players as the IPL franchises submitted their list of retentions to end weeks of speculations around who were going to stay with their teams and who would be entering the auction pool. MI's retentions were 1. Jasprit Bumrah, 2. Hardik Pandya, 3. Suryakumar Yadav, 4. Rohit Sharma, 5. Tilak Varma. "Since I have retired from the format, this is the perfect (retention) spot for me. The players who are representing the national team at the highest level should get the preference. That's what I believe in. It's a very tough one when you come into a fresh auction and you start retaining players," former MI skipper Rohit said after being retained by the five-time winners. After a disastrous last season when th...

After being retained by five-time IPL champions Mumbai Indians ahead of IPL 2025 season, skipper Hardik Pandya expressed his gratitude by saying everything he's achieved in life so far has been made possible due to being a part of the franchise. On IPL 2025 retention day, MI said they have chosen to retain their five core players in Jasprit Bumrah (INR 18 crore), Hardik (INR 16.35 crore), Suryakumar Yadav (INR 16.35 crore), Rohit Sharma (INR 16.30 crore) and Tilak Varma (INR 8 crore). "I think I have received a lot of love back, means the world to me. My journey started here and you know everything what I have achieved in my life has been part of Mumbai Indians. We are five fingers but one fist, that's how I look at it," said Pandya in a statement issued by the franchise. India's fast-bowling spearhead Bumrah leading the retentions order doesn't come as a surprise, as IANS understands Rohit backed this approach and infact volunteered to come in at fourth in ...

India A vs Australia A, 1st Unofficial Test LIVE Streaming: India A will be squaring off against Australia A in the first Unofficial Test of the two-match series, starting from Thursday in Mackay, Australia. The outings of Abhimanyu Easwaran , Nitish Kumar Reddy and Prasidh Krishna will be the primary focal points of India A's four-day match. Easwaran, Nitish and Pradish have been included in India's squad for the five-Test Border-Gavaskar Trophy series, beginning on November 22, and the thinktank will be eager to know how they fare in Australian conditions. Other than this aforementioned troika, the likes of skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad , top-order batter B Sai Sudharsan , pacers Yash Dayal and Navdeep Saini and middle-order batter Devdutt Padikkal can look forward to churn out some good efforts to keep themselves on the periphery of selection in case of an eventuality in the senior side. Ishan Kishan , the wicketkeeper batter, too will be eager to make the most of this chan...

Rishabh Pant , the country's No.1 wicketkeeper-batter, is all set to enter the IPL 2025 auction, according to a report. Ahead of the IPL 2025 retention deadline day on October 31,  it has been claimed that Rishabh Pant won't be retained by his franchise Delhi Capitals. Pant, after recovering from a major accident, made a return to the IPL last season. He has been a consistent feature in the Indian cricket team as well. The report, however, said that DC management was not convinced about the leadership qualities of Pant in T20.  "Rishabh Pant wanted captaincy, wanted to be involved with regards to appointment of coaches and support staff but plenty in the DC set-up are not convinced about his T20 game. It wasn't that they wanted to let him go but they were clear that they didn't see him leading the side. And that decision wasn't an overnight one," the report in Times of India quoted a source as saying. " Axar Patel is there as an option but there i...

Wearing the India blue jersey for the first time before the T20I series opener against Bangladesh earlier this month, Nitish Kumar Reddy felt a surge of happiness that prompted him to take a mirror selfie. Later on, he found himself glued to that picture on his phone, savouring the happiness of realising a dream he had nurtured since he first started playing the sport as a child - to play for India. Reddy's exceptional performance of making 303 runs in 11 innings and taking three wickets with his seam-up for Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2024 earned him the Emerging Player of the Season award. It led to his quick entry to the national set-up via a call-up for the five T20Is against Zimbabwe in July. But a hernia issue prevented him from joining the tour, delaying his chance to play for India. The wait finally culminated in the lead-up to India's first T20I against Bangladesh in Gwalior, where Reddy made his international debut. "That moment, I felt prouder of myself on how f...

In a thrilling week for domestic cricket, Madhya Pradesh's Rajat Patidar stunned fans with a lightning-fast century, the fifth quickest in Ranji Trophy history. Delhi and Baroda registered massive victories while defending champion Mumbai were held to draw by Tripura. Madhya Pradesh batter Rajat Patidar reignited his domestic cricket season in stunning fashion, blasting the fifth-fastest century in Ranji Trophy history in just 68 balls during the draw against Haryana. Harshal Patal was adjudged the Man of the Match after scoring 81 runs in the first innings and taking two wickets in each innings as the teams settled for a hard-earned draw. Delhi earned a dominant 10-wicket win over Assam on Tuesday in the third round of the Ranji Trophy, marking their first outright win of the season. The victory came with a bonus point, secured by openers Sanat Sangwan and Gagan Vats as they comfortably chased down the target of 59 runs without losing a wicket. Mumbai and Tripura battled it out ...

Team India faced a shocking 113-run defeat against New Zealand in the second Test in Pune. This loss turned out to be a historic one as New Zealand gained an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series and ended India's 12-year-old winning streak at home in Test cricket. In the second Test, India needed 359 runs to win but they got bundled out for 245 as the Kiwi spinner Mitchell Santner wreaked havoc with his six-wicket haul. Apart from this loss, another major concern for Rohit Sharma and co is the poor form of star batter Virat Kohli . In the two Tests, the 35-year-old batter miserably failed to leave a mark, despite playing a knock of 70 runs in the first Test. In the second match, Kohli got dismissed by Santner for 1 and 17, exposing his struggles against left-arm spinners. Kohli has been receiving criticism from the fans and cricket experts for his abysmal show. Former India star Dinesh Karthik that Kohli's struggle against spin is not new and he needs to work on...

Former Australia cricketer Tom Moody believes that Punjab Kings should not retain any capped players ahead of the IPL 2025 auction. While there have been reports of PBKS considering Arshdeep Singh as their only retention, Moody believes that the franchise should look to use the right-to-match option for cricketers like Arshdeep, Sam Curran and Kagiso Rabada . The IPL-winning coach added that young wicket-keeper batter Jitesh Sharma can also be a big option when it  comes to using the RTM card. When it comes to uncapped players, Moody picked all-rounder Harpreet Brar and explosive batter Shashank Singh as the prime contenders. However, according to media reports, there is a chance that Shashank may opt to put his name in the auction in order to attract a better price. “For Punjab Kings, I don't think I would retain any players, certainly not capped players, but I'd be looking to use the right-to-match option for players like Arshdeep Singh, Sam Curran, and Rabada. Jitesh S...

The Indian cricket team has already lost its ongoing home Test series to New Zealand. In the three-match affair, the Rohit Sharma-led side trails 0-2 against the visitors with a game to go. It also turned out to be India's first Test series loss on home soil in 12 years. Talks of India's dominance at home were put to rest by the Blackcaps, who fetched the best of the conditions on offer. While the hosts' defeat has put them under severe criticism, former South Africa captain and batter AB de Villiers has pointed out that there is nothing wrong with India. De Villiers, in fact, said that New Zealand's win is a result of the touring team's brilliance in adapting to the new conditions. The cricketing great also cited the example of Virat Kohli for the batter's impressive performance on South African soil to back his opinion. "When you go to India, Indian players are the best players of spin, it is perceived to be, doesn't always mean that it is a fact th...

Afghanistan A crowned ACC Mens T20 Emerging Teams Asia Cup 2024 champions after beating Sri Lanka A by seven wickets in the final at the Al Amerat Cricket Ground on Sunday. After winning the toss on Sunday, Sri Lanka skipper Nuwanidu Fernando won the toss and opted to bat. However, it did not help Sri Lanka to win the final. Sahan Arachchige (64 runs from 47 balls, 6 sixes) was the only standout batter for Sri Lanka as he stayed unbeaten on the crease and added some crucial runs on the scoreboard. Arachchige's pivotal role took Sri Lanka to 133/7 in the first inning. Nimesh Vimukthi (23 runs from 19 balls, 1 four and 1 six) and Pawan Rathnayake (20 runs from 21 balls, 1 six) also helped Sri Lanka and contributed to adding runs. Afghanistan dominated the game from the very first as they were successful in restricting Sri Lanka at 133/7. Bilal Sami led the Afghan bowling attack as he picked up three wickets from his four-over spell and gifted just 22 runs. Allah Ghazanfar also pick...

After India's 12-year unbeaten streak in the home Test series came to a stunning end as New Zealand clinched a historic 2-0 lead with a 113-run victory at the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) Stadium skipper Rohit Sharma acknowledged his team's shortcomings saying, "we failed to respond to the pressure". Left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner weaved magic with his 6-104 in the second innings on Saturday as New Zealand did the unimaginable by clinching a historic Test series win in India for the first time with a 113-run victory over the hosts. Santner, who took 7-53 in the first innings, rattled India yet again with a remarkable spell of 6-104 to end up with match figures of 13-157, the third-best match figures for a bowler from his country in Tests. Reflecting on the series, Rohit said, "We didn't bat well in the first innings. The pitch wasn't bad enough. We just didn't get close to their first innings score. As the game went on, the pitch started ...

On the back of his maiden Test century, India batter Sarfaraz Khan retained his place in the team for the second Test against New Zealand in Pune. With Shubman Gill making a return after recovering from a stiff neck, India backed Sarfaraz to retain his place, with the team management instead dropping out-of-form batter KL Rahul . Sarafarz hit 150 in the second innings of the 1st Test in Bengaluru, which India lost by eight wickets to the Kiwis last week. Now, former India batter Aakash Chopra has vouched for Sarfaraz's selection in the Indian team for the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Test series against Australia. India will tour Australia to play five Test later this year. Since the series will consist of five matches, Chopra feels the selectors should at least pick him in the squad. "In the squad, yes, in the playing XI, we don't know yet. You will need to carry enough, and it might be a larger squad anyways, it is a five-Test match series. First time in Australia, we ...

The BCCI on Friday night announced the all-important Indian cricket squad for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy starting in Perth on November 22. Jasprit Bumrah has been named vice-captain in the Rohit Sharma-led India side. Injured veteran pacer Mohammed Shami has not been included. In his place, young pacers Harshit Rana has earned a maiden Test call-up while fast -bowling all-rounder Nitish Reddy is also in. Domestic cricket veteran Abhimanyu Easwaran has also been called up. Rishabh Pant and Dhruv Jurel are the two wicket-keepers. Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli form the core of the top-order. In the middle-order, KL Rahul and Sarfaraz Khan are there. Apart from Bumrah and Rana, the other pacers are Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep and Prasidh Krishna.  The three spin-allrounders in the squad are Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar. Left-arm spinner Axar Patel has not been selected for the Tour. Meanwhile, Kuldeep Yadav was unavai...

Legendary India batter Sunil Gavaskar made a stunning U-turn after initially criticising the decision to include Washington Sundar in place of Kuldeep Yadav for the second Test match against New Zealand on Thursday. Washington was added to the India squad after the loss in the first Test match in Bengaluru and his inclusion in the playing XI prompted Gavaskar to say that it was a 'panic' decision. However, the all-rounder produced a stunning performance and took seven wickets to put India in control. Even Gavaskar was impressed with his performance and on commentary, the legend remarked - "What an inspired selection. He is picked in the XI because he can bat a little bit, bowl a little bit.” Earlier, Gavaskar was not convinced with India's decision to make three changes to their playing XI. KL Rahul , Kuldeep Yadav and Mohammed Siraj were all dropped for the second Test as Shubman Gill , Washington Sundar and Akash Deep made their way into the playing XI. It fee...

Stand-in captain Smriti Mandhana hailed India's bowling and fielding efforts as they bounced back from a "tough" phase to secure a win against New Zealand in the first ODI of the three-match series. India's Women's T20 World Cup campaign earlier this month had ended in a disaster as they failed to reach the semifinals following a 58-run defeat to Sophie Devine's New Zealand, who went on to win the tournament. However, this time, Devine's side fell short of chasing a modest 228, losing to India by 59 runs in the ODI series opener. "It's been a tough 1.5 to 2 months, so it feels good to start with a win. If you don't believe in cricket, you won't succeed," said Mandhana, who captained in place of Harmanpreet Kaur, during the post-match presentation. Harmanpreet was rested for this game because of an unspecified niggle. Indian batters also could not convert their starts and kept losing wickets at regular intervals to be bowled out fo...

India women's head coach Amol Muzumdar exhorted the side to push behind the "hurt" of the T20 World Cup and regroup for the three-match ODI series against New Zealand, beginning in Ahmedabad Thursday. New Zealand, who eventually lifted the ICC showpiece, had beaten India in their World Cup opener in the UAE recently, as the Harmanpreet Kaur-led side failed to enter the knockouts. "It'll be an understatement to say that we were disappointed from the World Cup, as the team and the players have been hurting. But we need to gather ourselves and look at the positives that we have done in the last 10 months as a group," Muzumdar told the media on the eve of the first one-dayer here. Muzumdar reminisced about the team's dominant run over South Africa recently in Bengaluru, winning the ODI series 3-0, and asked the team to concentrate on its strengths. "We'd won 3-0 against South Africa just a couple of months back in Bangalore. So, we are really look...

Rishabh Pant has "no injury concerns" and is set to keep wickets for India while the team will decide on Jasprit Bumrah's workload after the second Test against New Zealand starting here on Thursday, said head coach Gautam Gambhir. Pant copped a blow on the second day of the opening Test in Bengaluru and was replaced by Dhruv Jurel behind the wickets. Pant returned to score a fine century but did not keep wickets. Pant had a hit at the nets and also had a wicket-keeping drill with Gambhir on Tuesday. "Absolutely," Gambhir said on Wednesday when asked if everything was fine with the wicketkeeper-batter. "I think he's going to keep wickets tomorrow. (There are) no other fitness concerns," he added. Bumrah has played each of the three Tests at home this season and with the Australia tour less than a month away, India will decide on resting the ace fast bowler after the second Test. "Once the series is over, we still have around 10 or 12 days...

SL vs WI 2nd ODI Highlights: Sri Lanka have sealed the three-match ODI series with a game in hand and they have done so without breaking much of a sweat. As for West Indies, this is now their tenth straight ODI loss in Sri Lanka, a record they certainly won't be proud of. For Sri Lanka, the stand between Nishan Madushka and Sadeera Samarawickrama was crucial and after a watchful start, boundaries started to flow from both of their bats. Both of them did get out in the 30s but the platform was laid and batting had become easier. Skipper, Charith Asalanka then took charge and together with Janith Liyanage made sure that there were no hiccups. Liyanage fell but Asalanka stayed on and notched up an unbeaten 62 off 61 balls to seal the series win for his side. ( Scorecard ) from NDTV Sports-Cricket https://ift.tt/vpeAuRZ via IFTTT

Former India cricketer Manoj Tiwary has batted for the inclusion of a domestic run-scoring machine in the India setup. Following India's dramatic collapse to 46 all out in the first Test against New Zealand, Tiwary has questioned KL Rahul 's spot in the India side. Raising the example of Sarfaraz Khan 's success for India, Tiwary has suggested that India should try Abhimanyu Easwaran in the India playing XI in the near future. Easwaran has slammed four centuries in his last four first-class games. Tiwary pointed out Rahul's poor average in Test cricket, and recommended Easwaran's name. "The numbers that you showed are definitely disappointing, if you play 91 innings, and have an average of 33.98. India have a lot of batters who are performing well on a consistent basis, even in domestic cricket," said Tiwary, speaking on the Cricbuzz YouTube channel . "You need performances on a consistent basis, which should be checked in 1:3 ratio," said T...

Cheteshwar Pujara was a walking nightmare for Pat Cummins and company on the last two tours of Australia and the seasoned campaigner could be a surprise pick in India's jumbo squad for the upcoming five-Test series Down Under. The selectors are expected to announce the squad on October 28. Pujara could get the selectors' nod if Ajit Agarkar and his team decide to fall back on his experience. The 36-year-old was the leading run-getter in the 2018-19 series with 521 runs off 1258 balls and was once again the backbone of Indian batting three years later when he accumulated 271 runs off 928 balls. Across the two teams, the 103-Test veteran by far faced the most number of balls to wear out the opposition attack comprising Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc . Pujara has not played for India since the World Test Championship final in June last year. His appetite for big runs hasn't satiated yet as he scored 234 off 383 balls against Chattisgarh in the last Ranji Trop...

South Africa posted 140 for 6 on Monday in an action-packed first day of the opening Test, after Bangladesh collapsed to 106 all out with Kagiso Rabada celebrating being the fastest to take 300 Test wickets. The visitors took the lead, reaching 140 for 6 in 41 overs in reply at stumps at Mirpur, with Wiaan Mulder and Kyle Verreynne not out for 17 and 18 respectively. Bangladesh won the toss and opted to bat but four of their top six batsmen failed to reach double figures, with opener Mahmudul Hasan Joy top-scoring with 30 on a lively pitch. Seamers Rabada, Mulder and left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj took three wickets apiece for South Africa. He managed the feat in 11,817 balls, the fastest of all time, beating Pakistan's Waqar Younis (12,602 balls). Rabada soon made it 301 Test wickets, removing Litton Das for one, with Bangladesh crumbling, all out for 106 in 40.1 overs. Rabada said he was "really surprised at how the wicket played out". "Test cricket sho...

India's dreams of reaching the World Test Championship (WTC) Final were dealt a major blow after the Rohit Sharma -led side slumped to a eight-wicket loss against New Zealand in the first Test encounter in Bengaluru on Sunday. Chasing 107 in the second innings, New Zealand never looked in trouble and Indian bowlers were unable to take wickets at crucial intervals. As a result, India will have to win five from their remaining seven matches in order to secure a spot in the WTC Final. Rohit and Co were able to maintain the top spot in the points table but their lead was cut down quite a bit. India will now face New Zealand in two more Tests before heading to Australia for a five-match series. India loosened their grip somewhat but continued to lead the World Test Championship (WTC) standings, despite suffering an eight-wicket defeat to New Zealand in the three-match series opener. India's percentage dropped to 68.06 percent after the humbling experience in Bengaluru, and they wi...

A group of people attacked Shakib Al Hasan's fans during a protest in Dhaka on Sunday amid tight security, an eye witness said. Shakib Al Hasan wanted to retire from Test cricket by playing the series against South Africa in Bangladesh. The BCB responded positively to his request and included him in the squad against South Africa. But he was advised by the Bangladesh government not to enter the country due to security reasons while in transit through Dubai on his way back to Bangladesh from the US. Fans had been protesting outside the cricket stadium in Mirpur for several days to protest against Shakib's ban from playing the farewell Test in Bangladesh. On Sunday, a group of people suddenly attacked them with sticks. At that time, the army and law enforcement personnel who were there brought the situation under control by blowing whistles. Notably, Shakib officially joined the Awami League party in 2023. He filed the nomination from the Magura-1 parliamentary seat as an Awami...

New Zealand produced a clinical performance in a high-stakes final to beat South Africa by 32 runs and win their maiden Women's T20 World Cup title in Dubai on Sunday. It turned out to be a historic Sunday for New Zealand cricket as the White Ferns got their hands on the ICC trophy hours after the men recorded their first Test win in India after 36 years. South Africa, playing their second successive final, sent New Zealand in to bat and the Sophie Devine -led side thrived under pressure to post an above par 158 for five at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. Amelia Kerr collected 43 off 38 balls while Brooke Halliday made an impactful 38 off 28 balls to push New Zealand beyond 150 in what has been a low scoring tournament. South Africa skipper Laura Wolvaardt (33 off 27) took her team to 47 for no loss in the powerplay before New Zealand bowlers were able to stifle the opposition. South Africa could not keep with the scoring rate and ended with 126 for nine in 20 overs. K...

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is mentally prepared for India's refusal to travel to the country for the Champions Trophy but it won't move the title clash of the tournament from Lahore even if the arch-rivals qualify for the final on March 9, sources said on Friday. The PCB's stance on hosting the final is up for debate when the International Cricket Council (ICC) Board members meet in Dubai from October 18 to 21. "The PCB's first choice and priority is to host entire Champions Trophy in Pakistan and they are counting on this but internally the Board is also mentally prepared to hear about the Indian government not allowing its team to play in Pakistan and India's matches being held in UAE," a PCB source said. "But the PCB has decided even in the event of India not playing in Pakistan they want the final to be held in Lahore. Even if India qualifies for the final the PCB wants the ICC to hold the match at the Gaddafi stadium in Lahore," the s...

India A excelled in all three departments, clinching a thrilling seven-run victory over Pakistan to kick off their ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup campaign on an exhilarating note in Al Amerat, Oman on Saturday. India's top order fired in unison as it posted 183 for 8 with Tilak Verma top-scoring with a 35-ball 44 after opting to bat. Pacers Anshul Kamboj (3/33) and Rasikh Salam (2/30) and spinner Nishant Sindhu (2/15) shared eight wickets amongst themselves to restrict Pakistan to 176/7. Not only did India shine with the bat and ball, they also delivered an impressive performance in the field, particularly through Ramandeep Singh, who made a stunning catch and saved vital runs in the closing moments. Openers Abhishek Sharma (35 off 22) and Prabhsimran Singh (36 off 19) unleashed an aggressive assault on the pace attack, sending the ball flying across the field. Abhishek slapped consecutive boundaries in the first over, while Prabhsimran followed suit by dispatching Zaman Khan for a...

Abhimanyu Easwaran continued his sublime run of form with a brilliant century as Bengal played out a draw with Uttar Pradesh on the final day of their Ranji Trophy encounter on Monday. Resuming the day at 78, Easwaran scored his 27th First-class hundred — his fifth century in the last nine innings — to help Bengal declare their second innings at 254/3, setting U.P. a target of 273 runs. Despite a challenging pitch and early setbacks, Priyam Garg's gritty century ensured the hosts managed to hold on for a draw. Bengal walked away with three points for their first-innings lead, while Uttar Pradesh had to settle for one. Starting the day under overcast skies, the U.P. pacers struggled to generate any movement from the pitch. Bengal's opening pair of Easwaran and Sudip Chatterjee, who had already stitched together a century stand on Day 3, remained untroubled by the bowling attack. Yash Dayal's short-ball ploy was short-lived after the left-armer was cautioned for delivering t...

Seasoned wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan has emerged as a front runner to become Pakistan team's captain in the white-ball formats when the PCB announces the touring squad for series in Australia, Zimbabwe and South Africa. The Pakistani selectors have held meetings with the PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi and also consulted white-ball head coach, Gary Kirsten in the last two days. "The third Test against England finishes on 28th October and the squad has to leave for Australia the next day so the selectors would be announcing the white ball squad by Sunday," a reliable source in the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said. "Rizwan because of his seniority, his reliability as a player and because of his experience of leading teams well in domestic cricket and PSL is a front runner to become white ball captain,” the source said. Babar Azam had quit as Pakistan captain early this month, saying he wants to focus on his batting. Pakistan are due to play nine ODIs and as many...

Since India's usual number three Shubman Gill had to sit out of this match with a stiff neck, Virat Kohli walked out in to bat in that position after eight years. However, he perised for a nine-ball duck. After stumps on Day 2, India captain Rohit Sharma said it was Kohli's decision to bat in that position. "The experienced players are the ones who have to take that extra responsibility. It is a good sign. This time, it was Virat. He was the one who was ready to do that. We asked him whether he can bat at number three," Rohit revealed. "We wanted to give Sarfraz the position that he usually bats four, five, six maybe. But we didn't want to change Rishabh and KL (Rahul). Hence, Sarfraz went at four and Virat batted at three," he said. Rohit praised Henry and O'Rourke for troubling the Indian batters throughout the first innings. "They play in these types of conditions back home. They know exactly what to do when the conditions are like that...

A resolute South Africa came up with a clinical performance to shock mighty Australia by eight wickets and enter the final of the Women's T20 World Cup on Thursday. South Africa thus exacted revenge for their loss in the last summit clash at home, when Australia won by 19 runs to lift their sixth title. Put in, Australia were stopped at a modest 134 for five as Beth Mooney top-scored with a 42-ball 44 in the first semifinal. Ayabonga Khaka (2/24) was the most successful bowler for South Africa, even as others chipped in nicely. South Africa completed the task with 16 balls to spare and Anneke Bosch led the way with a scintillating knock of 74 not out in 48 balls. Skipper Laura Wolvaardt contributed a 37-ball 42 at the top of the order. Earlier, Wolvaardt opted to field after winning the toss and her decision was justified as Ayabonga Khaka had Grace Harris and then Marizanne Kapp accounted for the wicket of Georgia Wareham to leave the Australians struggling at 18 for two i...