Category: Cricket

Jasprit Bumrah was brilliant during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series, winning the Player of the Series award even though India lost 3-1 to Australia. He took 32 wickets, making him the top bowler in the series.

Unfortunately, Bumrah’s final game at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) ended badly. He hurt his back on Day 2, which meant he couldn’t bowl in the second innings. India couldn’t defend a target of just 162 runs and lost by six wickets.

After the game, Bumrah talked about his injury and expressed his disappointment at missing the chance to bowl on such a challenging pitch. “It’s frustrating, but I have to listen to my body. I wish I could have bowled on that spicy wicket,” he said during the post-match presentation.

The crowd at SCG cheered when Bumrah came out to bat, but his injury meant he couldn’t help his team when it mattered. India’s bowlers struggled without him, allowing Australia to chase down the target easily.

The series started well for India with a big win by 295 runs in the first match in Perth. But after that, they faced several problems, especially with their batting, which caused them to lose their grip and ultimately the series.

Bumrah said that despite the loss, the team learned important lessons, especially for the younger players who played. He believes these experiences will help them grow in the future. “We gained a lot of experience, and we’ll take these lessons with us. Congratulations to Australia. We will regroup and move forward,” he added.

Even though India lost the trophy, Bumrah’s outstanding performances were a highlight and kept India competitive throughout the series.

In Sydney, cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar believes that India might have a tough time defending their score if star bowler Jasprit Bumrah isn’t fully fit on the third day of the final Test against Australia. Bumrah had to leave the field during the second day’s game after feeling some back pain, just after bowling one delivery. He went for scans, and although he came back to the locker room later, his condition is being looked after by the medical team.

India’s bowler Prasidh Krishna mentioned that Bumrah suffered from back spasms. At the end of the day, India had a 145-run lead and still had four wickets left to play.

Gavaskar said, “If India adds 40 more runs or puts up 185, then they have a good chance to win. However, everything depends on Bumrah’s fitness. If he’s okay, then a total of 145-150 runs may be enough. But if he can’t bowl well, even scoring close to 200 runs might not help.”

He also commented on how India is keeping Bumrah’s condition a secret from the Australian team. He explained, “When Jasprit returned after the scan, he seemed fine, and his body language was good. It’s essential to keep everything private because the Australian players aren’t sure how to play him. They don’t know if they should attack, defend, or play cautiously. Keeping Bumrah’s status secret helps our strategy.”

Bumrah has already taken 32 wickets in this series and had great figures of 2/33 in 10 overs before leaving the field. He took the wickets of Marnus Labuschagne in the morning and Usman Khawaja on the last ball of the first day.

Have we had even one normal day of Test cricket in the Border Gavaskar Trophy series? Every day has brought its own excitement and surprises that make us cheer or groan with frustration. The Sydney Test is no different!

After a tough start on Day 1, Day 2 at the SCG was wild, with 15 wickets falling! When so much happens, it’s easy to get dizzy, but some moments really stay with you. At the end of the day, India is 145 runs ahead, thanks to the thrilling batting of Rishabh Pant, who scored 61 runs off just 33 balls.

Jasprit Bumrah, one of India’s best bowlers, had to leave the field due to back pain, which worries the Indian team. However, just his presence on the field can help lift the team’s spirits.

Australia had chances to take the lead but India played well despite Bumrah’s absence. Australia scored only 181 runs in their first innings, with Prasidh Krishna taking 3 wickets, Mohammed Siraj also picking 3, and Nitish Reddy grabbing 2. Even a small four-run lead gave India’s bowlers a confidence boost.

Bumrah got the first wicket with Australia starting strong, but soon they struggled. Sam Konstas and Steve Smith tried to build a partnership, but Siraj was swinging the ball perfectly. He took crucial wickets, including Travis Head, leaving Australia at 39/4.

Beau Webster stepped up for Australia and scored a solid 57, helping them get to 96 runs before Prasidh struck again by taking Smith’s wicket. After lunch, Prasidh realized he could bowl better and began targeting the right lengths, which worked like magic.

After getting bowled out for just 181, Australia knew the Indian batting lineup would also have to work hard in their innings. India started strong, but it was Rishabh Pant who changed everything. He took risks and played aggressively, hitting a huge six off the very first ball!

Pant’s explosive batting made the game exciting, but even after he was out, India needed to keep fighting to reach at least 200 runs. With day three coming up, we can expect just as much action and maybe even more, especially since the series is on the line!

At a hot Newlands stadium, Ryan Rickelton did something amazing in the second test against Pakistan: he scored 213 runs without getting out! This was his highest score ever in first-class cricket. Rickelton, who is 28 years old, stepped in to open the batting after Tony de Zorzi got hurt.

When the players broke for lunch on the second day, South Africa had scored 429 runs for 5 wickets. Along with Kyle Verreynne, who hit 74 runs off 88 balls, Rickelton formed a strong partnership of 106 runs for the sixth wicket.

Rickelton started the day on 176 and carefully faced Pakistan’s bowlers, especially when they tried to use their new ball. Unfortunately for Pakistan, David Bedingham, who was batting with him, got out early for just 5 runs, caught by keeper Mohammad Rizwan off Mohammad Abbas.

Rickelton had a fantastic day yesterday too, scoring 235 runs alongside team captain Temba Bavuma. The pitch is great for batting now, but it might get tricky as it heats up later.

On the downside for Pakistan, they lost their key opener, Saim Ayub, due to an ankle injury. He will be out for about six weeks which is a big loss. This means the team is down to just nine players for batting.

South Africa has already qualified for the World Test Championship final at Lord’s in June, and they want to win this series 2-0 after a thrilling two-wicket victory in the first test.

The Sydney Test between Australia and India is super exciting, with the game getting tense. On Day 2 of the fifth Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test, a total of 15 wickets fell, creating a chance for the match to end on Day 3.

Former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar made an interesting comment about Australian and English players. He said if 15 wickets had fallen in India, people would be complaining about the pitches.

On Day 2, Australia was chasing a target 176 runs behind. India’s bowlers—Jasprit Bumrah, Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj, and Nitish Kumar Reddy—played incredibly well and got Australia out for just 182 runs, only giving India a slight lead of 4 runs.

In their second innings, India lost wickets quickly, but Rishabh Pant hit a fast half-century, helping India get a lead of more than 130 runs. By the end of Day 3, India was at 141/6 with a lead of 145 runs.

Gavaskar spoke on ABC Sport, saying that former Australian and English players often complain about Indian pitches. He stated, “We don’t complain. If 15 wickets fell in a day in India, there would be chaos.”

He also mentioned how Glenn McGrath, a former Australian bowler, said he had never seen so much grass on the Sydney pitch. Gavaskar pointed out that Indian players don’t complain, no matter the conditions: “We always tough it out. If we lose, we lose.”

He believes the Sydney pitch isn’t ideal because everyone hopes for matches to go into the fourth and fifth days. “The pitch looks like it could have been grazed on by cows,” Gavaskar joked. He added, “This isn’t the kind of pitch you want because ideally, you want the match to last longer. Unless it rains, I don’t see us still playing on Day 4.”

Everyone’s been asking questions about Rohit Sharma’s decision to skip the Test match in Sydney. Some wondered if it was a retirement decision or if he was pushed out of the game. But Rohit finally cleared things up during an interview.

He explained, “This is not a retirement decision. I’m not giving up on cricket.” Rohit, who is 37, has been struggling to score runs lately and decided to take a break to help the team.

“I sat out because I wasn’t scoring runs,” he shared. “But I believe things can change soon. I have to be smart about my return to form.”

Rohit also mentioned that he made this decision after considering how important it was for the team to have players who are in good form. After talking with the coach and selectors, who agreed with him, he felt it was best for the team.

“It was a hard choice, but it was sensible. I’m focusing on what the team needs right now,” he said. This brave call could even help him in the long run, and fans might appreciate it even more later.

Rishabh Pant played an amazing inning, scoring the second-fastest half-century in Indian Test history on Saturday. This helped India gain a 145-run lead with four wickets still in hand during the crucial fifth Test against Australia. After day two in Sydney, India was at 141-6, with Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar still batting. Australia had scored 181 runs, trailing behind India’s 185 in their first innings. With Australia leading the series 2-1, India needed to win to keep the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

Pant started strong, hitting a six off his first ball and reached 50 runs in just 29 balls, which is only slower than his own record of 28 balls against Sri Lanka in 2022. He eventually scored 61 runs off 33 balls but was dismissed by Pat Cummins. Scott Boland was a major threat, taking 4 wickets for 42 runs. India’s captain, Jasprit Bumrah, had to leave the field after bowling just one over, likely for hospital tests, but was seen returning later.

Australian all-rounder Beau Webster, who scored 57 runs, said it was a fast-paced match, with many wickets falling. India’s Yashasvi Jaiswal got off to a good start with four boundaries in the first over, but KL Rahul and Jaiswal were dismissed soon. Virat Kohli needed a big score but fell for just six runs. Boland dismissed both Kohli and Nitish Kumar Reddy to finish with four wickets.

On the Aussie side, they lost four key players before lunch, including Steve Smith, who fell just five runs short of 10,000 Test runs after Prasidh caught him out. India bowled brilliantly, especially Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj, and Nitish Reddy, as they took Australian wickets at crucial moments, leaving them struggling.

Rishabh Pant broke the record for the fastest Test half-century by a visiting player in Australia during the fifth Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at the Sydney Cricket Ground. On Saturday, Pant, who had been struggling to score runs in the series, turned it around on day two with an explosive innings. He reached 50 runs in just 29 balls, hitting a six off Australian bowler Mitchell Starc. This record surpassed the previous mark of 33 balls set by England’s John Brown in 1895 and West Indies’ Roy Fredericks in 1975. Pant’s performance also made him the second-fastest Indian to hit a half-century in Test cricket.

The record for the fastest Indian half-century still belongs to Pant, who scored 50 runs in just 28 balls against Sri Lanka in Bengaluru in 2022. In this match, Pant scored 61 runs off 33 balls, including four sixes and six fours. He also had an important 46-run partnership with Ravindra Jadeja to help India reach a total over 100 runs.

Earlier, India’s top order batters did not take advantage after getting Australia out for only 181 runs. KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Shubman Gill, and Nitish Kumar Reddy all failed to make big scores as Scott Boland took four wickets, and debutant Beau Webster and Captain Pat Cummins each took one wicket, leaving India in a tough spot.

After Pant’s innings, the phrase “Stupid Stupid Stupid” began trending on Twitter. Former cricketer Sunil Gavaskar criticized Pant for his poor shot selection in a previous Test against Australia. Despite this criticism, fans reacted humorously on social media, calling back to Gavaskar’s comments with phrases like “Stupid Stupid Stupid is the new Brave Brave Brave.”

On Day 2 of the game at the Sydney Cricket Ground, Australian opener Sam Konstas found himself in a tough spot after he teased Indian captain Jasprit Bumrah. Things got heated when Konstas and Bumrah had a disagreement at the end of Day 1. This fired up Bumrah, who quickly got Usman Khawaja out with the very next ball and celebrated right in front of Konstas.

When Day 2 started, the Indian team brought the same energy and didn’t let Konstas settle into his game. Yashasvi Jaiswal, an Indian opener, who had a small argument with Konstas during a previous match, decided to taunt him again at SCG. Jaiswal joked in Hindi, asking Konstas if he was struggling to play his shots now. However, Jaiswal forgot that Konstas might not understand Hindi! This moment was so funny that former Indian player Irfan Pathan laughed out loud in the commentary box, and the video quickly spread on social media.

Konstas scored only 23 runs in his first innings before getting caught by Jaiswal, who took a great catch at gully from a ball bowled by Mohammed Siraj. After Konstas was out, Australia’s situation worsened as they lost three more wickets quickly, leaving them at 39-4. Travis Head was also out for just four runs.

Steve Smith and wicketkeeper Matthew Webster teamed up to make a small comeback with a partnership of 57 runs for the fifth wicket. But as Smith approached a big milestone—his 10,000th Test run—he also got out. Prasidh Krishna, who was playing instead of the injured Akash Deep, caught Smith off-guard, and another catch was taken by KL Rahul. Smith ended with 33 runs, missing his big mark by just five runs.

Virat Kohli stepped in as India’s acting captain when Jasprit Bumrah had to leave the game with a minor injury on Day 2 of the final Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Sydney. We still don’t know exactly how serious Bumrah’s injury is, but we’ve learned that the world’s top fast bowler left the field with the Indian team doctor to get checked out at a nearby hospital.

During the match, Bumrah first went off the field right before Lunch on Saturday. He did come back and managed to bowl one over after the break, but he had to leave again. Abhimanyu Easwaran came on as his substitute to take his place.