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Unable to comprehend R Ashwin's sudden decision to retire from international cricket, a shocked World Cup-winning skipper Kapil Dev says the premier off-spinner deserved a fitting farewell, ideally on home soil. Ashwin stunned one and all by calling it quits on Wednesday, right after the Brisbane Test against Australia ended in a draw. Kapil felt Ashwin seemed unhappy with something.
Right-hand batter Kamran Ghulam and left-arm seamer Shaheen Afridi's exceptional performances guided Pakistan to victory over South Africa by 81 runs in the second ODI of the three-match series at the Newlands on Thursday. With this win, Pakistan take a 2-0 lead in the three-match series with the last fixture to be played at Johannesburg on Sunday. The Asian side got half-centuries from skipper Mohammad Rizwan (80), Babar Azam (73) and Kamran Ghulam (63) when compiling a total of 329 and that proved too much for the Proteas as a clinical bowling performance from Shaheen Afridi (4/47) and Naseem Shah (3/37) guided the visitors home.
Former Australia fast bowler Brett Lee reserved blockbuster praise for India pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, who leads the wicket-taking charts in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Bumrah has picked up 21 wickets so far in three Tests, and single-handedly won India the series opener in Perth last month. While Australia outplayed India in the last two Tests, Bumrah's performances have not dropped one bit. There has been much criticism of India's other frontline pacers, especially Mohammed Siraj.
India stand-in skipper Smriti Mandhana said the five-year wait they had to go through to win a T20I series at home did not "reflect" the team's capabilities, a fact she reminded her colleagues ahead of the series decider here on Thursday. Put in to bat, India dished out a dominating batting display. Mandhana (77; 47b) set the foundation before Richa Ghosh (54; 21b) equalled the record for the joint-quickest fifty as the hosts posted their highest T20I total of 217/4. In response, West Indies were limited to 157/9 as India sealed the three-match series 2-1, their first series victory at home since 2019.
Hosts India will face arch rivals Pakistan in the opening match of the inaugural Kho Kho World Cup on January 13, the organisers announced on Wednesday. As many as 24 countries have confirmed their participation in the week-long event (January 13-19), which will be organised at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in the national capital and at the Noida Indoor Stadium. "The league matches will start on January 13. There will be an opening ceremony on that day and after that the most exciting match of the season, the match between India and Pakistan men's teams will be played," Kho Kho World Cup CEO Vikram Dev Dogra said during a media interaction.
Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury were locked in a bad-tempered face-off for a full 11 minutes on Thursday as preparations for their heavyweight rematch turned serious. Defending champion Usyk and Fury, who suffered his first career defeat to the Ukrainian in May, stared each other down just inches (centimetres) apart and mostly in silence, before the Briton began taunting his rival. Fury, stung by his split-decision loss, has appeared laser-focused during fight week in the Saudi capital as he seeks to hand Usyk his first professional defeat.
Veteran India pacer Mohammed Shami will be rested for Bengal's Vijay Hazare Trophy opener against Delhi on Saturday in Hyderabad, the Cricket Association of Bengal announced on Thursday. Shami, who last played for India at the 2023 ODI World Cup, recently returned to domestic cricket after a lengthy injury layoff due to ankle surgery. He has since been recuperating at the BCCI's Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru. While Shami made an impressive comeback taking seven wickets to help Bengal clinch their first win of in this season's Ranji Trophy, he took nine wickets in the recently-concluded Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
Richa Ghosh smashed a record-equalling fastest fifty while Smriti Mandhana made a graceful fifty to propel India to a 60-run victory over the West Indies in the third and final women's T20I in Navi Mumbai on Thursday. Thus India clinched the three-match series 2-1, and it was also the home side's first T20I series win at home since October 2019. Ghosh struck a 21-ball 54 (3x4s, 5x6s) while bringing up her fifty off a mere 18 balls and Mandhana made a robust 77 to power India to their highest ever T20I total of 217 for four.