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Kanpur Test, IND vs BAN: All round India put hosts in Command on Day 4

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Star off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin took two quick wickets to reduce Bangladesh to 26 for two in their second innings as India grabbed complete command of the rain-hit second Test at close on the fourth day here on Monday.

Bangladesh still trail by 26 runs. Ashwin did the damage with a two-wicket haul (2/14).

Earlier, aggressive fifties by Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul placed India in a commanding position.

Jaiswal (71 off 52 balls) and Rahul (68 off 43 balls) helped India declare their first innings at 285 for nine for a lead of 52 runs. Virat Kohli made a fluent 47 off 35 balls.

For Bangladesh, veteran left-arm spinner Shakib Al Hasan picked four wickets (4/78) along with off-spinner Mehidy Hasan Miraz (4/41) to check the free-flowing Indian batters as they scored runs in excess of eight an over.

Yashasvi Jaiswal hit a bludgeoning half-century to steer India to a solid 138 for two in their first innings at tea on day four of the weather-hit second Test against Bangladesh, in Kanpur, on Monday.

Jaiswal hammered a 52-ball 71 as India scored at over eight runs an over, and now trail the visitors by 95 runs.

Showing urgency to surpass Bangladesh total and probably push for a victory in the limited time available, India came out batting in the T20 mode.

Jaiswal hit three boundaries in the opening over to stun pacer Hasan Mahmud while Rohit began by clobbering two sixes off Khaled Ahmed, and one landed on the stadium roof.

The onslaught surprised the rival attack but the home fans were rewarded for flocking the stadium in the last two days despite rain.

Going with a see-and-hit approach, India completed the fastest team fifty in three overs.

Realising the ineffectiveness of his pacers, Bangladesh skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto introduced spinner Mehidy Hasan Miraz and he responded to the SOS call, castling Rohit.

Jaiswal completed his fifty with a single off left-arm spinner Taijul Islam and went on in his aggressive fashion. His innings, which contained 12 fours and two sixes, was cut short by Mahmud.

The young opener added 72 runs for the second wicket with Shubhman Gill (38).

Gill (37) and Rishabh Pant (4) remained unseparated till the tea break.

Earlier, Bangladesh were bundled out for 233 in their first innings, built around Mominul Haque’s patient hundred.

Except for Mominul, none of the Bangladeshi batters applied themselves on a placid pitch that did not offer much to the Indian bowlers.

Pacer Jasprit Bumrah (3/50) accounted for three batters, further establishing his brilliance, while his pace colleagues Mohammed Siraj (2/57) and Akash Deep (2/43) scalped two batters each.

Spinner Ravichandran Ashwin (2/45) got rid of legendary Shakib Al Hasan, probably playing his last.

Ravindra Jadeja toiled hard to get his 300th Test wicket and succeeded when he caught and bowled Khaled. Jadeja also became the second quickest to complete the double of 300 wickets and 3000 runs in Test cricket behind England great Ian Botham.

Mominul Haque hit a patient hundred on a placid pitch but India maintained pressure on Bangladesh with a couple of stunning catches, reducing the visitors to 205 for six at lunch on day four of the weather-hit second Test in Kanpur on Monday.

The sun shone bright in the Kanpur sky after two gloomy days and the on-field action finally began after a loss of eight sessions.

It was still a first-day pitch but there was not much either for pacers or spinners. Bangladesh top-order batter Mominul completed his 13th Test century even as his colleagues failed to apply themselves in favourable conditions.

Resuming at 107 for three, Bangladesh lost Mushfiqur Rahim (11) in the sixth over of the day when Jasprit Bumrah castled him with an angled delivery.

It was an error of judgement from Rahim who left the ball, thinking it will go over the stumps but it stayed a bit low to disturb the off-stump.

In the previous ball also, Rahim was troubled by an angled delivery that took the edge and zoomed to the boundary ropes.

New-man in Litton Das (13) began confidently, driving a length ball from Bumrah through the cover region for a four and followed that up with another solid drive in the same region.

Mominul stayed solid from his end and also survived a catch appeal off Mohammed Siraj. The southpaw was beaten, the ball hit his thigh-pad and DRS showed the ball had not touched his glove before being taken by Yashasvi Jaiswal.

In the next ball, Mominul completed his half-century by pulling a short one from Siraj to the square leg boundary.

Rohit Sharma, standing at mid-off, pulled a stunner from thin air when Das charged down the wicket to Siraj but stood in disbelief after his powerful hit was plucked by the Indian captain mid-off.

In came Bangladeshi legend Shakib Al Hasan (9), who is probably playing his last Test match, but he did not last long. He got his first boundary by working a full-length from Siraj on the leg side.

He went after Ashwin but could not connect well as his one hand came off the bat. Siraj standing at mid-off backpaddled to take a stunning catch.

BGT 2024

Melbourne Test: Injury scare for KL Rahul

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India opener KL Rahul got hit on his hand while batting at the nets in Melbourne on Saturday and was promptly attended to by the visiting team’s physio ahead of the fourth Test against Australia.

Rahul was hit on his right hand and was seen in some discomfort at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, which will host the Boxing Day Test from December 26 with the five-match series levelled at 1-1.

There is no clarity on the extent of injury and the team management has also not issued any statement on why he had sought medical attention.

In a video that surfaced on social media, Rahul was seen holding the right hand while receiving treatment.

The opener was also hit on the arm during match simulation on November 17, but was fit to play the opening Test in Perth, five days later.

Rahul has been the team’s in-form batter in the ongoing tour, scoring 235 runs from six innings at an impressive average of 47.

The elegant right-hander has so far struck two half-centuries and is set to open the batting alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal in the fourth Test.

Overall, he is the second highest scorer in the marquee series behind Australia’s swashbuckling middle-order batter Travis Head, who has already smashed two hundreds.

Battling through multiple rain interruptions, Rahul held firm with a vital knock of 84 in India’s first innings of the third Test in Adelaide, the innings going a long way in helping India to save the match.

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IPL 2025: Punjab Kings Star Shreyas can’t wait to work again with Ponting

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Punjab Kings’ costliest acquisition Shreyas Iyer is “super excited” about being a part of the franchise and is hopeful of delivering results from the very first match.

It has been a remarkable year for Punjab Kings’ latest acquisition. At the start of the year, Shreyas Iyer was part of the Mumbai team that won the Ranji Trophy for the 42nd time. He then led Kolkata Knight Riders to their third Indian Premier League title. He was also a member of the Irani Cup-winning Mumbai team.

Under his leadership, Mumbai won the 2024-25 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT), their second SMAT title, last week.

“Surreal feeling after winning Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. A lot of hard work took place behind the scenes. The boys were tremendous with their performance. Now we are done with this part,” Iyer said in a video uploaded on Punjab Kings’ official social media handles.

Now, the Mumbai cricketer is laser-focused on a significant task: winning a maiden IPL trophy for the Punjab Kings. Iyer, who was signed on by the Kings at the Auctions last month for Rs 26.75 crore, expressed his excitement about joining the franchise.

“Super excited to be part of Punjab Kings. I cannot wait to join the Punjab Kings family. It’s been a great year for me to win four trophies. My main goal is to win the IPL trophy for Punjab,” Iyer said.

The 30-year-old, who has previously played under the guidance of former Australia World Cup-winning Captain Ricky Ponting in the IPL, said he is looking forward to brainstorming alongside one of the cricketing legends once again. Earlier this year, the Kings announced Ponting as the new Head Coach for the franchise.

“I can understand what the feelings must be among the fans. With Ricky coming in, we have shared a great camaraderie from the past. We would be putting our thinking caps on and brainstorming on many aspects. Hopefully, we will deliver from the match one,” Iyer signed off.

Shreyas worked alongside Ponting for three seasons when he was the captain of Delhi Capitals while the former Aussie captain was the Head Coach.

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BGT 2024

Australian Media Creates Fake Narrative against Ravindra Jadeja

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The Border Gavaskar 2024-25 Series recently witnessed an off-field controversy involving Ravindra Jadeja.

The left-arm spinner addressed a press conference on Saturday ahead of the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne and the proceedings of it have not impressed some media outlets it seems. 

Channel 7 carried out a report claiming Jadeja “refused” to answer questions from their reporters in English and the TV reporters, who had travelled all the way after being “invited” and were left “bemused by the “strange and frosty media conference at the MCG.”

Notably, Jadeja addressed the media after India’s first practice session at the MCG. The press conference proceeded smoothly until Jadeja concluded the session and decided to return to practice. At this point, an Australian journalist expressed frustration, displaying anger over Jadeja not answering any questions in English.

A couple of Australian journalists were rude towards the Indian media manager, asking their camerapersons to keep recording their conversation with the Indian media manager. Their behaviour bordered on the aggressive.

Australian media: One question in English? 

Team manager: sorry, we don’t have time now. You can see the team bus is waiting. 

Aussie media: Can’t we take one question in English?

Manager: This was organised mainly for the travelling Indian media. 

Aussie media: The organisation is hopeless.

This incident comes a couple of days after Channel 7 invaded India legend Virat Kohli’s privacy by filing him with his children without his consent at the Melbourne airport. Although there is no written rule that stops the media from filming a superstar like Kohli in the public domain, his family, especially his young children, could have been spared. Moreover, the aggressive reporting, claiming Kohli lost his cool and had a heated exchange with a female reporter on the same channel, was also questionable.

The Border-Gavaskar Trophy stands at 1-1, and before the Boxing Day Test at the MCG, it appears that tension is not limited to the cricketers on the field.

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